How To Train Your Dragon 1 Point 5
by Jak Sandrow
Summary: What if the events of How To Train Your Dragon happened a few years later? Rated T for potential teen hormones. A bit of Hiccstrid. NOTE: I OWN NOTHING. Other than the adjustments to the plot.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all you curious readers! This is my first story, so bear with me. If you have trouble reading the accents/words, just try speaking them aloud.**

_My name's Hiccup. I live on the more or less - usually less - sunny island of Berk. It's not a bad place to live, all things considered. Of course, it could be a lot better… Dragons and all, considered._

_Oh yeah, I forgot to mention a few things. We have dragons. Thankfully, that's about all the pestilence we get. Nevertheless, even for a strong, hardy village of Vikings, the dragons are plenty and enough. _

_We've been here on the island of Berk for seven generations now, but the dragons have been here for as long as anyone can remember. Okay, they're not here, on Berk, but they frequent it enough…_

_As I said, my name's Hiccup. Great name, I know. But it's not the worst. Parents say a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that. _

_Our chief, Stoick the Vast, is one of the more reputable dragon fighters of the whole village. Then again, he'd have to be. They say when he was a baby, he popped a dragon's head clean off its shoulders. Do I believe it? Yes I do. _

_And then there's me. 6'1" with the frame of a toothpick. Well, okay, being a blacksmith's apprentice for most of my life gave me something when puberty hit. Still… it's not normal to see Vikings as thin as me at 17. Usually they're either brawny and top-heavy, or they're tough and basically a barrel on legs. Me? Again. Toothpick. And the chief blacksmith says as much. _

_His name's Gobber. I've been his apprentice since I was little. Well… littler. _

_Being a blacksmith's apprentice has really let me see the inner workings and the behind-the-scenes of all the action and adventure the other Vikings get. For every Viking's axe, there's a smith hammering away at an anvil. For every melted sword, every slagged spear, there's always someone bending it back into shape. And that someone is usually…_

"HICCUP!"

The 'toothpick' turned from the window, cringing, knowing he was caught in the middle of his reverie. "Yeah?"

"Ge' yer sorry carcass o'er t'the bellows. Y'let the fire burn down again." Turning, the chief blacksmith went back to his hammering.

Turning to work the bellows, Hiccup was soon zoned out again. _One day I'll get out there…_

"Ach… HICCUP!"

He jumped at the sound of Gobber's commanding voice. "What?"

"Stop dozing off at yer work!" he accused.

That was a little too far. "Ohhh…" he said, eyes getting a glint of anger.

"Oooohhh yeh." The marginally taller smith looked down at Hiccup with a note of disdain.

"You, sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much -"

"I've heard it before," Gobber interrupted. "And my answer stays the same. As does your fighting 'prowess'," he continued, making air quotes with his remaining hand and his hammer. "Ye can barely lift a hammer, ye can hardly swing an axe - ye haven't even been trained with these!" He held up a bola, which was promptly snatched out of his hand.

"Okay, but this will do it for me," he said, patting a wooden cart-like contraption behind him. Thankfully, this one didn't snap open and knock a Viking out. The last one to do that had been subsequently smashed when it snapped too far and broke itself in half. He had been wary to continue that project again… but this time it looked like it would hold. He was right, it had been an over-calibration.

"Acht, no, Hiccup." Gobber was attempting to reason with the teen. "If you want to get out there, to fight dragons, you need to stop all… this."

"You just gestured to all of me."

"Yes, tha's it. Stop being all of you."

"But I _have_! You said it yourself, I can lift a hammer and swing an axe!"

"_Barely_, and _hardly_," Gobber enunciated.

"Whatever!" Hiccup spluttered. "How am I going to change if you won't let me change?"

Gobber considered. The lad had a point there… And it was in the best interest of the village.

"Two minutes, and I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better, I might even get a date."

Gobber finally relented. "Two minutes. Any more, and I'm coming after you."

Hiccup was elated. "Thank you, thank you, thank you -"

"_After_ you finish stoking the fire."

Hiccup deflated a bit. Of _course_ there was a catch.

A very short time later, the fire was stoked and Gobber was off doing some heroics somewhere. Now was his chance.

Steering the cart to a previously staked-out position, he waited for the perfect shot…

* * *

"What have we got?" Stoick asked a nearby villager.

"Gronkles, Nadders, Zipplebacks - oh, and Hoark saw a few Monstrous Nightmares."

"Any Night Furies?"

"None so far, but it's a prime night for them."

"So noted. Spitelout?" he requested, of his second in command.

"HOIST THE TORCHES!" Spitelout yelled. Stoick _could_ do it himself, but his no.2 was far better at getting his voice to project.

As the night-vision torches were lit and raised, Stoick could get a good look for himself at the swarming lizards. They were _everywhere_.

And there were no carts to throw… Shoot.

However, there were a group of Nadders that were looking fairly hungrily at the sheep. Grabbing a few other Vikings, they got a net and swung it over the bunch with a "Let's geddim!"

"Mind yeselves!" Stoick cautioned, jumping on the supposedly lead Nadder. "The devils still have some juice in them!" he bellowed as one managed a fire blast before he clamped its jaws shut.

* * *

Hiccup was set up in a reasonably fortified area. It was nice and open, for the perfect shot. The bait, an unmanned but weapons-ready catapult, lay about 400 m away. His bola cannon could get a shot there in about 3 seconds or so - he had measured - so he'd have to lead the target by a few seconds. What was his target, exactly? He let himself sink back into his intrapersonal communication.

_The ultimate prize is the dragon no one's ever seen,_ he reminisced. _We call it the_ - He was interrupted by a yell from the main village.

"NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!"

Now they could hear it. A building whistling scream. They could get a rough idea of where it was going to hit, judging by the motion of the sound. That was the only reason that the gunning crew of the first tower was able to survive the powerful explosion.

_It never takes food,_ Hiccup reminded himself. _Never shows itself, and - _Another blast took out the foundation of the tower. _Never misses… _he finished, an unbidden shudder running across his shoulder blades. _No one has ever killed a Night Fury. That's why I'm going to be the first, _he thought, logic temporarily escaping him. Steeling his grip, he awaited the dragon's attack on his tower.

* * *

"FIRE!"

"C'mon, let's go," Astrid called to her peers.

As they slowly doused the flame from the burning house, she headed back for a second pail. There was Snotlout, trying hard to make it seem he wasn't flexing as she walked by - and failing. He was a little shorter than her, and had the incredible delusion that she was smitten by him. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There were the twins, fighting over their bucket. Again. She broke it up by shoving her pail into their faces, and getting another herself. Ruffnut, the girl, and Tuffnut, the boy, were both taller than her, but their mental power was… somewhat lacking. Then again, put together, they could probably outthink Snotlout. Still not saying much, Astrid admitted to herself with a chuckle.

That was Fishlegs over there by the water cart. The ox of a teen was filling buckets faster than they could get taken away. Which was a good thing, she figured. He was far brighter than the other three, but when it came to actual strategy thinking? She beat him hands-down.

Though she had to respect his vast knowledge. More than once, a little fact or stat from him had saved her skin from being torched. Or stabbed. Or crushed. So she held a grudging respect for the guy.

There was another teen, the chief's son. She couldn't see him, which meant he was either working or missing. Considering the subject, she opted for the latter. Cough, she thought. No, wait. Hiccup. Right. Hiccup. He was… weird. To say the least.

What _did_ she know about him? Well, he was fairly awkward; he seemed bright enough, but he would always clam up whenever she spoke to him. That was… kind of rude, in her opinion, but hey, it could be fear. More than once she had to prove something to the other teens with the blade of her axe, and more times than not she'd turn around to catch the back of Hiccup's swiveling head.

He was a blacksmith, she knew this. And he was pretty good with a hammer, too. Multiple repairs to her axe had proven this. So she held an even more grudging respect for him, too. Still… She shook her head. Back to work.

* * *

"C'mon, gimme something to shoot at, gimme something to shoot at…" Hiccup murmured, ears attentive to the whistling dive.

It came, at last, and against the backdrop of the explosion on the tower, he could see a blurred silhouette of what must be the Night Fury. His fingers pulled the trigger by instinct, and he was knocked back by the unexpected kick. Scrabbling to his feet, he saw the Night Fury's silhouette move away from the flame - and away from his shot. His heart sank to his toes. But at what seemed the last second, it hovered a split-second too long in one spot, then shot forward - to be intercepted by his bola. The scream that now came from it was not one of whistling wind. This one was far more primal.

"I...hit it? YES I HIT IT!" He shot to his feet, fists pumping in the air as he did a happy spin. "Did _anyone _see that?" A crunch and a low rumble sounded behind him, and he saw a Monstrous Nightmare stomping on his slingshot. "Except for you," he muttered wearily.

* * *

Stoick was fastening down the Nadders, when he heard a high-pitched yell, which cracked into a more manly yell. Sort of. Only one person made that yell.

"Auch." He sighed, then turned to his fellow Vikings. "DO _NOT_ LET THEM ESCAPE!"

"Right!" he heard, already dashing up the hill, hammer in hand.

As he crested the hill, he could see the Nightmare, a blast of liquid fire aimed at the base of one of the torches. No, at Hiccup. It didn't appear that he was harmed, which was a relief. He charged at the dragon, the beast's only warning a yell as he hammered a fist, gaining the monster's attention. It spurted a weak blast, and a little cinder, and whimpered.

"You're all out," Stoick said, determinedly, and began to punish the monster's face.

As the Nightmare flew away, Stoick's attention returned to the torch's base - and the person standing behind it.

* * *

_Oh, and there's one more thing you need to know._

As the piling began to tip to the side, unstable from the Nightmare's fire, the torch on top broke loose and began to bounce down the hill, unwittingly freeing the Nadders as their guardians fled for their lives from the torch.

Hiccup cringed again, anticipating a wrath that was sure to come. "Sorry, Dad," he said to Stoick.

He half-turned, taking in the charred buildings, the scorched Vikings. "Okay, but I hit a Night Fury," he managed, before he was dragged behind Stoick. "D'aw, no, it's not like all the times before, Dad, I mean this one's different, I mean, I really actually hit it. You guys were busy, and I had a very clear shot! It went down, just off Raven's Point. Let's get a search party out there, before it -"

"STOP!" his dad bellowed. "Just… stop." Hiccup glanced to Gobber for support; there was none. Gobber's features were as set in stone as everyone else's.

"Every time you step outside, disaster follows," Stoick continued. "Can ye not see that I have bigger problems?. _Winter_ is almost here and I have an entire village to feed!"

"Euuhh, between you and me the village could do with a little _less feeding_, don't you think?" Hiccup snarked.

"This isn't a joke, Hiccup! Auch, why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

"I - I can't stop myself Dad! I see a dragon and I have to just… _kill_ it, y'know? It's… who I am, Dad."

"Auchh… you are… _many_ things, Hiccup. An engineer, perhaps. A _chief_, even. But a dragon killer? Son… that's just not one of them. Ge' back to the house." He spoke to Gobber now. "Make sure he gets there."

With a tone of disapproval, he spoke to Hiccup as much as everyone else. "I have his mess to clean up. Again."

As Gobber and Hiccup headed for Hiccup's home, they passed by the chuckling Thorston twins. "Quite the performance," Tuffnut jabbed.

"I've never seen anything like that. That 'helped'!" Snotlout continued. Gobber shoved a hand down _hard _on his head, and he hit the dirt. He was up again with a smirk and a wink at Astrid.

"I really did hit one," Hiccup commented to Gobber when they were almost home.

"Ach, sure, Hiccup."

"He never listens."

"It runs in the family -"

"And when he does, it's always with this disappointed scowl, like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich." Time to put his Viking accent practice to use. "Excuse me barmaed! I'm afraed yeh've brou' me the wrong offspreng. I ordered an extra-lerge boy with beeeefy arms, extra guts and gloreh on the siyde. This here? This is a walkin' feeshbone!"

"Now, ye're thinkin' about this all wrong," Gobber assured him. "It's not what you look like, it's what's inside that he can't stand."

Hiccup stared at his master with a look of disbelief, unamusement, and weariness. "Thank you for summing that up."

"Look, the point is," Gobber continued hurriedly. "Stop trying to be something you're _not_."

"I just want to be one of you guys," Hiccup stated, hurt emanating from his voice, as he closed the door.

Gobber sighed. That boy. One day he'd make them all proud, he was sure of it. Till then… He straightened his back. Time for work. He turned back to the smoking village for a kip and a meal, then he'd get back to replenishing the armory.

And so it was no one saw Hiccup dash out the back door.

-~:~-


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is out! **

**Reviewing Reviews: **

** HiccupandShermanLover: Sorry, I'm only putting in as much Hiccstrid as was in the movie. Okay, maybe a bit more. But don't tell anyone! Shh!**

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* * *

"Either we finish them or they'll finish us!"

Stoick had called an emergency meeting in the wake of the dragons' most recent raid.

"It's the only way we'll be rid of them. If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave. They'll find another home. One more search. Before the ice sets in." He had this well-planned out. The fleet was all but ready to leave _that minute_, and he needed volunteers. Or voluntolds. He could live with that.

"Those ships never come back," piped up a quiet Viking from the back. "And that lucky fluke of a trip we had a few years back? That was only because we didn't get near as far before they saw us."

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard," Stoick reminded them. Were they all lily-livered? "Now who's with me?"

The following silence spoke for itself.

"Alright," he continued, standing up. "Those who stay can watch Hiccup."

The general cry was more or less along the lines of "TO THE SHIPS!"

As they all made a mad dash for the boats, Stoick went over to Gobber. He had known the other man for as long as he had been married, and longer, even. Gobber was just finishing his tankard.

"Right. I'll pack my undies," he said, getting up.

"No, I need you to stay to finish the other's training," Stoick admonished.

"Oh, perfect," Gobber sighed. "And while I'm doing that, Hiccup can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to himself… What could possibly go wrong!?" His tone left little doubt as to his opinion of the awkward youngster.

Stoick sat down beside his best friend. It was at these times that their friendship was truly tested, and every time it came through stronger. "What am I going to do with him, Gobber?" he asked, desperately.

"Pu' 'im in trainin' with the others," Gobber suggested.

"No, I'm serious."

"So am I!"

"He'll be _far_ behind the others. He'll never survive two minutes with what they're up against!"

"True… but we could start him off on his own, afterwards?"

Stoick sighed. "I don't know."

"No, you don't."

Stoick sighed again. "You know what he's like. From the time he could crawl, he's been…. _different_. He doesn't listen. He has the attention span of a sparrow. I take him fishing and he goes hunting for… for trolls!" He threw up his arms in desperation.

"Trolls exist!" Gobber piped up. "They steal your socks. But only the left ones. What's with that?"

Stoick continued. "When I was a boy -"

"Oh here we go."

"- my father told me to bang my head against a rock, and I did it!" Stoick continued. "I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?"

"You got a headache."

"_That rock split in two_. It taught me what a Viking could _do_, Gobber. He could crush mountains, level forests, tame _seas!_ Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become. Hiccup is not that boy." He sat down beside Gobber, his face stone but his eyes betrayed his true emotions.

Gobber, realizing his friend was serious, took a moment to think. "You can't stop him, Stoick. You can only prepare him. Look, I know it seems hopeless. But the truth is you won't always be around to protect him. He's going to be an apprenticing chief in a year, he may as well get training now."

Stoick turned determinedly away, nodding, the wheels already grinding away in his mind.

* * *

Looking up from his notebook, Hiccup looked up in excitement to see - nothing. Nothing but trees, fog, and dirt. Just like the last 47 times. He marked an X on the map in his notebook, then, upon actually seeing the other X's, scribbled the whole thing out, slapped the charcoal pen in his notebook, and stuffed it in his fur vest.

"Ahhh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife, or their mug. Oh, no, not me. I manage to lose an _entire dragon_!?" Seeing a branch he could actually reach, he swatted at it with a grunt, and let out a pained curse as it hit him in the face in return. Looking up at the offending tree, he saw it was unnaturally broken as if something had hit it. Something large. And possibly… dragon-shaped?

Looking back down, he could see the trench of impact. The dragon, for that's what he assumed it to be, had landed here, and had carved a trench over that hill, landing presumably on the other side. He crept down the impact trench, noting the claw marks where the beast had tried and failed to stop itself. As he looked over the rim, he could see the beast where it - THAT"S THE NIGHT FURY!

He ducked down, hoping it wasn't too late… When nothing seemed to have changed, he carefully peeked over the rim. The black dragon - he could see it was black, now - it still lay in the same position on the ground. Fumbling for a moment, he caught up his short sword from his vest scabbard. Well, it was more of a knife, but it did the trick in a pinch.

Keeping it in front of him, he walked carefully down the slope. Hiding momentarily behind a large boulder, he walked around to view the beast.

"I...I did it," he said, in bewilderment. "Th-this fixes everything! Yes!" Placing a triumphant foot on the scaled hide, he continued, stuffed with bravado, "I have brought down this mighty beast -"

GRRROOWWWWLLLL

He jumped back as if burned. The thing was still alive! He could see it breathe now, taking huge lungfuls of air. His handiwork stretched out over its entire frame, keeping it from flying, clawing, or even moving its head. He looked at it. Its eye was wide open, its iris narrow and hostile. It didn't move at all, aside from its breathing. It just… stared at him.

Hiccup realized that he had let his knife drop to his side. Holding it at chest level, and spinning it around to gut instead of stab, he steeled himself. "I'm gonna kill you, dragon. I'm gonna, I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I am a Viking."

It moaned again.

"I am a VIKING!" he yelled at it.

It looked at him. He looked at it.

And saw so much more than a beast.

This thing… this… Night Fury… was no ordinary beast. It… could think… And in his eyes… Hiccup could see…

No. This wasn't right.

He steeled himself again, and, raising his blade, let his hands fall - to rest on his head.

The knife was held loosely in his hand. He looked at it, let it fall back to his side. "I did this…" he murmured, as much to himself as anyone else. He took a step to leave, then turned back.

* * *

A rope fell to the ground. The dragon's eye shot open. The human was cutting his bonds! Why? For sport? For a game? Oh, he intended to make sure that the human knew his combatant. As soon as its paws were free, it leapt on the human.

* * *

"Gaaahhhh! Ahhh…" Hiccup gasped. "Ah hah…" The dragon bore its steely gaze into him. His eyes widened with the realization that… he was going to die. The dragon reared his head back, and -

SCCRREREEAAAAAAAARRRHHRHRHHHHHHH!

With a wailing roar, the beast left him with a final warning. And then high-tailed it out of there.

Hiccup was astonished. It… just left him alone. Like… it didn't even hurt him. At all!

He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He got up, knife in hand, and watched the beast flounder away through the woods.

As he turned to go, the ground specifically requested a hug, and, naturally, he wouldn't refuse such a kind offer from Mother Nature.

* * *

As Hiccup made his way home, he thought about what he should tell his dad. Should he say that there was a Night Fury in the woods? Nah… he'd probably bring further disgrace on him and his dad. So he opted for 'I dunno. A nice day.' instead of 'I found a Night Fury!'.

He crept in the room. There was his dad, sitting by the fire. Sneaking to the steps he was halfway up when -

"Hiccup."

Cringing, he stopped. "Dad! Uh… I, uh, have to talk with you, dad."

"I need to speak to you too, son."

At the same time, they said:

"I think it's time you learn to fight dragons."

"I just, just don't want to fight dragons."

"What?"

"What?"

"Ah, you first," Stoick told his son.

"No, no, you, go first."

"Alright." He clasped his ham-hands together. "You get your wish. Dragon-training; you start in the morning."

"Oh man, I should've gone first. Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know, we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough… _bread_-making Vikings, or small home repair Vikings -"

"You'll need this," Stoick interrupted, dumping a heavy axe in Hiccup's gesticulating arms.

"Gaahhh…I don't want to fight dragons."

"Of course you do," Stoick said, thinking this was one of his son's attempts at sarcastic humor.

"Rephrase. Dad, I can't kill dragons."

"But you _will_ kill dragons!"

"No, I'm really, very extra-sure that I won't."

"This is serious, son."

"Can you not hear me?"

"When you carry this axe -" here Stoick adjusted the axe in Hiccup's arms - "you carry all of us with you. Which means, you walk like us, you _talk_ like us, you think like us. No more of… this."

"You just gestured to all of me."

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided -"

"DEAL?"

His dad wasn't much taller than him, but he more than made up for it in physical presence.

Hiccup sighed. "Deal…"

Stoick picked up a knapsack. "Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably."

"And I'll be here. Maybe…"

He watched his dad leave the room, feeling more alone in the world than ever before.

* * *

"Welcome to dragon training, Hiccup!" Gobber said, a meaty hand sweeping the boy into the arena.

_No turning back,_ the boy thought, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He could see the teens all running about and clanking their tools together. They weren't fighting anything in particular, they were simply building up arm strength.

"Let's get started!" Gobber called out. "We're training Hiccup against a Gronkle today. Level one."

"But we're at, like, level… 4!" Tuffnut complained. That was fairly high for him, considering.

"26," Astrid corrected. "I've been keeping track."

"Yeah. That."

"It don't matter," admonished Gobber. "Hiccup is starting at level one, just as you all did. As he progresses, he'll be able to do this by himself. For now? The Gronckle, if you will do the honor, Snotlout?"

Snotlout gripped the lever and grinned at Hiccup. "Fancy a face full of rock, cousin?" he asked, slamming the lever down.

The Gronckle burst out the door, barreling at a pile of talus by the corner. Scooping it up, it prepared its fires. It turned to the nearest target, looking for the perfect shot.

All the other teens had shields, so Hiccup was left scrabbling for whatever he could find. He happened across a circular, mostly intact shield. It was a little scorched, but it looked sturdy enough.

Snotlout and Astrid had managed to convince the other teens to let Hiccup have a go at the Gronckle; Snotlout wanted to see his cousin flattened, Astrid wanted to see exactly what he would do.

Hiccup had done a little last-night cramming, and he learned a few key details. Gronckles had six shots, and could easily be distracted by noise. Slamming his axe against his shield, he saw the Gronckle begin to waver and, as it prepared its fire, was able to dodge the lava blast. It singed Tuffnut on the rump, earning him an early disqualification. "OH I AM HURT I AM VERY MUCH HURT!" he yelled, hopping out of the arena, obviously in pain.

Hiccup managed to pick off Ruffnut and Fishlegs this way, though neither of them were intentionally eliminated by Hiccup. It just happened.

Snotlout had lost concentration on the exercise by then, and was once again flirting with Astrid. "So I've really outfitted my parent's basement recently. You should come by some time to work out. You look like you work out." Snotlout's animated voice made him an easy target for the fourth shot of the day.

As Hiccup sidestepped a ramming attempt by the Gronckle, he found himself near Astrid. "So, uh," he stammered, giving her a grin he did not feel inside. "Guess it's just you and me, huh?"

"Nope, just you," she returned, ducking and rolling away. He was trying to figure out just what she meant when his shield was suddenly ripped off his arm and began to roll away. He chased after it, dimly hearing "One shot left!" from behind him. Suddenly, he tripped. In an instant, the scenario changed. His shield was rolling away to his right, but there was now an angry Gronckle on his tail. He tripped again, this time landing on his back. He scrabbled up against the wall behind him, and suddenly, there was nowhere to run.

He looked up into the glowing maw of the Gronckle, and knew for sure - This time he was going to die.

A hook sprang out of nowhere and yanked the jaw up just as it let off its shot. The lava blast tunneled harmlessly into the rock above Hiccup. A few stray sparks were all that was left of the blast when Hiccup stood back on his two feet.

Gobber was just putting the… 'overgrown sausage' back in bed.

"Remember," he said to the teens, "a dragon will always," here he turned to Hiccup specifically, "_always…._ go for the kill…"

Hiccup was more than a little puzzled…

* * *

He held the rope and bolus in his hands. "So why didn't you?" he asked the invisible dragon that had just escaped his clutches.

Standing up from the scene of the crime, he took in the surroundings.

He was back where he had found the Night Fury, only one day before. Now he was a little puzzled.

Following the somewhat obvious scratch marks on the ground, it was blatantly clear the beast wasn't flying. But why? Surely the dragon would be better in its natural hunting environment… right?

He took a small dip in the rabbit trail, and followed it to a hole in the rock. It opened up before him into a beautiful natural rock enclave. About 10 meters high by 150 meters long, it was a rough circle. A deep-looking pool, somewhat offset, was the source of the very freshened air he was smelling.

But no dragon. He looked to the left, the right - nothing. Yet the tracks were unmistakable.

Apparently they were the wrong tracks. "Well, this was stupid," he chided himself.

A glint of sunlight on rock caught his eye, and he knelt down to look at something. It appeared to be… black… scale?

* * *

**If you want more, dump a review! Even if it's, like, 10 words, I don't care. I love 'em!**

**- Jak**


	3. Chapter 3

**But wait! There's more!**

**Reviewing Reviews:**

** StorSpeaker: Thanks, man!**

** HiccupandShermanLover: Shh, you're scaring everyone else away.**

** DaEpicNinja: Thanks! And yes, he's 17 here; in the canon movie he's 15.**

** Comet Moon: I'm trying to stay as close to canon as possible, without actually copywriting the whole thing. And what does LFTM mean?**

** kitty.0: Heh. I'm trying to stay close to the story, but make it noticeably different. Warn me if I go too close or too far, 'kay? :P**

**For all you people undoubtedly wondering what's different: There's actually going to be a reason for Astrid's overnight 'conversion', as well as more proof of Hiccup's skill with dragons. Bear with me!**

**...rawr**

* * *

_Previously, on HTTYD 1.5:_

_A glint of sunlight on rock caught his eye, and he knelt down to look at something. It appeared to be… black… scale?_

ROOOAOOAOAAAAAHAHRRRRRR!

A black streak raced past Hiccup's vision, not two meters from the crevice in which he stood. He stumbled back on his rear, watching transfixed as the wild creature scrabbled at the rock wall. It couldn't find a purchase, so it stumbled back, taking a wobbly flight at the last second to land across the pool. Hiccup crawled down, to get a better view. It was most definitely the dragon he had shot down the other night. Almost as an afterthought, he got his notepad out again. Flipping past design template after design template, he got to the blank pages.

Taking several glances in between his pages and the subject in question, he soon had a rough sketch of the dragon. "Why don't you just...fly away?" he murmured, studying the dragon further.

He saw the reason soon after. Its tail was not symmetrical; rather, one tail fin had been very cleanly ripped off, probably on the landing run. The other tail (the right one) lay next-to-useless all by itself, flapping against empty space where there should have been another fin. Hiccup carefully erased the proper fin on his diagram. The dragon made a feeble attempt at flying, plopping down almost gracefully in front of the pond. It saw something - probably a fish - and snapped into the water. It apparently missed, for it lay back down again, dismal. At least, as dismal as a predator of its stature could be.

Hiccup sighed, a little of its dismalness leaking into his elated attitude. He set his charcoal pen down - and it promptly went on a little rolling spin, quickly dodging his grip and plummeting to the soft dirt below with several 'inconspicuous' clinks.

"Ahhh…" Hiccup groaned, a little too late as the dragon looked up at Hiccup's perch.

It stared unblinking at him, evaluating him? sizing him up?

Hiccup tilted his head, curious.

_The dragon mimicked his motion. _

* * *

It was one of those stormy evenings on Berk. The rain poured down in sheets. Hiccup had gone about three meters before he was soaked to the skin. Trudging home with an infernal squelch in his boots, he opened the massive doors that lead to the Mead Hall. Inside he could hear his peers reviewing the day. As they chatted, he quietly grabbed a plate that still had food on it, a mug that still had water in it, and sat down at a nearby table. Dimly, he heard his name being spoken, and he listened in.

"...go wrong today?" Gobber was asking.

"Uh, he showed up?" Tuffnut offered.

"He didn't get eaten," Ruffnut observed.

"He's _never_ where he should be," Astrid finished, correcting the girls as much as scathing Hiccup with her astounding review.

"_Thank_ you, Astrid," Gobber sighed, smacking the two twins upside the head. "As I've said so many times before, you need to live and breathe this stuff." He dropped a thick book on the table, and all the teens groaned. "Yes, we know, the Dragon Manual," Snotlout grumbled. "Everything we know about every dragon we know of," he finished, mocking Gobber's adage in a nasally, high-pitched voice.

"Study up," Gobber said. "No attacks tonight." The thunder rumbled in affirmation of his statement.

Ruffnut was helping her brother balance a knife on the table. No matter how hard he tried, he always needed her help to get it just right. Now he piped up. "Wait. You mean, _read_?"

"While we're still alive?" his sister echoed.

"Why read words when you can just kill stuff the words tell you stuff about?" complained Snotlout.

"I've read it, like, thirty times!" Fishlegs gushed. "There's this one dragon that has rings of fire, and, and another one that spins in circles -"

"Yeah," Tuffnut interjected. "Sounds great. Uh, there was a chance I was going to read that -"

"- but… now?" his sister muttered glumly. Tuff looked over the table at Fishlegs with a winning smirk.

"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff," Snotlout offered, already up and making a break for the exit, followed closely by the twins.

"And, and there's this water dragon, that has sonic blasts…" Fishlegs continued, oblivious to his departing audience, tagging along.

Hiccup, actually alone with Astrid - sorta - went over to ask her. "So, uh, I guess we'll share -"

"Read it," she said, shoving the book his way and dashing his hopes at the same time.

"Oh, all mine, then," he said, fingers brushing the hard cover. "So, I guess I'll, uh, see you -" The double doors slammed shut. "- tomorrow…" he finished, dejected.

* * *

Once he was sufficiently dried off and his hair actually the way he wanted it - that is, not in a wet bowl around his head - he took a few candles over to the table. The hall was almost deserted but for a few sleepy drunken Vikings too smashed to go home. That was no worry to Hiccup - he liked the solitude.

"Dragon classifications," he read off of the first page. "Strike class…. Fear class… Mystery class…" There were far more classes, but those looked the most interesting. He was looking for one page in particular, and it fell somewhere under one of those three.

"Thunderdrum," he read. "This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight."

He looked to a fairly vivid drawing of decapitated Vikings. A small shiver ran up his spine.

"Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees...extremely dangerous. Kill on sight."

In the flickering light of the candle, the images seemed to take on a life of their own. Hiccup quickly turned the page.

"Scauldron. Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous - gaahhaahh!" He jumped, startled, as a rather loud thunderclap shook the doors. Turning back to the book, he began reading with fervor.

"Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight." The details came fast and furious, and he began skimming, reading names as he went. "Gronckle. Zippleback. The Skrill." He shuddered, continuing. "Bone Knapper. Whispering _Death_." He avoided the images and began to read the descriptions.

"Burns its victims, buries its victims, chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside-out." He skimmed faster, exotic and strangely beautiful dragons seemingly on every page now. "Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight…"

His eyes landed on a completely blank sheet. Looking up, he read the title with awe. "Night Fury." There was no picture. There was but a very limited description: "Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. _Never_ engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you." With _that_ pleasant note…

He took out his notebook, and it fell on the _Book of Dragons_, opening to his sketch of the Night Fury in the woods. It too seemed to come alive on the page…

* * *

Stoick gazed into the wind, feeling the cold air sift through his auburn beard. To his right, open sea. To his left… eternal smoke and fog. The dragon's habitat.

"I can almost _smell_ them," he said, lightly punching his map. They were very close, now. "Steady…" he cautioned. As he could just make out the twin platforms that marked the safest route in, he called out, "Hard to port!" The call was echoed.

"Helheim's gate," someone breathed.

The three ships that made up this expedition turned into the fog. For a second, nothing. Then, as the final ship entered the dense fog, they felt a breeze…

And then hell descended on them.

* * *

Hiccup was standing casually in front a wooden wall, axe held loosely in one hand, shield strapped tightly to the other arm. He asked Gobber, "So, I noticed that there's nothing in the book about Night Furies, is there another book? Or a sequel… maybe a Night Fury pamphlet -" He was cut off by a colorful explosion as his axe head disappeared in the magnesium flame of a Deadly Nadder.

"_Focus_, Hiccup," Gobber admonished. "You're not even trying."

Gobber continued to spew less than helpful tips, as Hiccup began to nimbly dodge the shots headed his way. "Today is all about - _attack!_ Nadders are quick, and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter."

The other teens were all expertly dodging flying spines, blazing fire, and tooth & nail. Except for the twins, who were (of course) bickering, and drawing most of the attention of the Nadder.

Hiccup used that opportunity to pepper Gobber with more questions. "Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?"

"No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale. Now GET IN THERE!"

"I know," he assured Gobber. "I know, but… hypothetically…"

"Hiccup!" he heard behind him as a hoarse whisper. He turned to see Astrid beckoning him over. In any other situation, he would have been on cloud nine for Astrid to notice _him!_ As it was, what with the dragon and all - plus the fact she was crouched rather close to Snotlout - meant that he was soon grounded firmly in reality again.

"Get down," she hissed, Snotlout jerking his head to get Hiccup to _move_ his rear!

Breathing quickly, Astrid saw the dragon start sniffing the air for them. It had lost their scent for now. Perfect. With a quick, silent tuck and roll, she was on the other side of the wall. Snotlout was right behind her - he was at least good with a shield, she allowed herself to admit. He followed orders, that was good.

Hiccup? She shook her head. Even as he started into his tuck, she inwardly cringed. _Horrible_ form! His shield should have been tucked over his head, then he was supposed to push off that! He never got the chance. She suspected him to be less brawny than the average Viking, but she never figured him for the weakling he was portraying himself to be. As he collapsed back onto his shield, she mentally kicked him. The Nadder heard the clatter and shot a good blast in his direction. He ran off howling like a wounded dog, and she shook her head. So much for 'second chance'. She hefted her axe, preparing to whack the beast but good. Suddenly she was stumbling backward, as Snotlout pushed in front of her.

"Watch out, babe, I got this," he grinned at her, and threw his hammer at the Gronckle. She mentally face-palmed as it slammed into the wall - nowhere near its intended target. She shot him an accusatory glare as he quickly formulated an elaborate excuse. "The sun was in my eyes, Astrid," he complained, dodging a fire blast at the last second. "What do want me to do - block out the sun? I could do that…" The rest was lost as they split up, the dragon following her. She weaved and dodged around the wooden walls, but the Nadder wasn't letting her escape so easily. It stayed right on her tail as she frantically tried to avoid more spikes, a couple fire blasts, and Snotlout's incessant flirting.

A wall loomed in front of her, and suddenly the only way to go was up. So she leapt, a barrage of fire knocking the wall over just enough for her to land without being impaled by the sharp tops of the wood. Leaping from wall pillar to wall pillar, she quickly traversed the top of the field, trying desperately to _lose_ the beast and ambush it somewhere. However, quick for her was not quick enough for the Nadder. It was right behind her, and there were no walls to jump to. She saw someone below her - Hiccup - and called out to him, in attempt to make a soft landing.

As the dust settled, she could make out Hiccup beneath her, arms splayed behind his head in an attempt to cushion the blow. She could hear the twins reveling in the sudden distraction. "Oooh, love on the battlefield," jibed one. "She could do better," snarked the other.

Hiccup was attempting to get up from under her. "Just… let me… why don't you…" She stood off him, a sneer crossing her face. She saw her axe buried in his shield, and tugged at it. Unfortunately her axe had wedged itself very tightly in his shield. And the Nadder had crawled out of its impromptu pile of rubble. It was even now dashing towards them. She gasped and tugged harder at her axe. It wouldn't budge, so she opted for Plan B. She tugged at the shield, trying to wedge it off his arm. For a skinny guy, he really… knew… how to put… a shield… on tightly… she thought in between tugs. Desperate she planted her foot on his face, and pried the thing off him, just in time to bring it around to smash against the Nadder's cheek. It whimpered away, Gobber leading the beast back into its cage. Her wrath subsided, she whirled on Hiccup.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?" she tore into him. "Our parents' war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you're on." With that, she tossed her braid and left the arena.

Hiccup lay on the cold stone ground of the arena, actually giving her words serious thought. He didn't realize it then, of course, but his choice of side would be radically changed within the next year.

* * *

**Okay, sorry about the late post. I had prior engagements.**

**Keep up the reviews! The more reviews, the faster I might post! Or… at least keep this pace, anyway.**

**- J.**

**P.S. I'd like some HTTYD art done, and I have no talent. If you would like to volunteer... I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks, again.**


	4. Chapter 4

**And here we go again!**

**Reviewing Reviews:**

** Comet Moon: Aaahhhh… that makes sense.**

** kitty.0: Awww...thanks! That's the general idea. :P**

** HiccupandShermanLover: Hey, that's cool. I'll PM you 'bout it.**

* * *

The cove. A fairly peaceful place, all things considered. The sun streamed through from above the trees, softly illuminating the mossy ground. The pool, continuously replenished by new rainfall, glistened in the late morning air.

A fish hopped out of a rocky crevice. Plopping to the ground, it just… lay there.

An auburn-haired youth poked his head out to see if anything had changed. Nope. The fish was just as dead and unmoving as it was a moment before.

Hiccup held his shield steadily in front of him as he walked out to get the fish. He was halted within one inch, however - the shield was jammed nice and tight in the rocks. Ducking under it, he tugged at it, but it just would not budge. Sighing, he dismissed it.

Picking up the fish by sliding a hand into the gills, he carried it around, looking for the apparently reclusive Night Fury. Hearing a scraping, like tooth on stone, he turned - to get a very good view of a fully mature Night Fury crawling towards him. Backing up, he held out the fish in front of him. The dragon reached forward to take it, then his eyes flicked to Hiccup's vest and the Night Fury backed up, snarling. Startled, Hiccup opened his vest. His knife was stuffed into his waistband. Affirming that this was, in fact, the object of the dragon's attention, he gripped the handle to take it out and throw it away -

_Snarrlllll…_

Hiccup looked again at the beast. It was hunched, ready to fight to the last breath. So Hiccup tried a slightly different approach.

Picking up the blade gingerly by the tip of the handle, he used his index finger and his thumb to slide it out of his belt, then, holding it as far away from him as possible, simply dropped it straight to the ground. Only when it hit dirt did Hiccup let his arm slowly fall to his side.

The dragon made a snorting gesture with his head, and Hiccup did not question the imperative. Flipping the knife onto his boot, he kicked it into the water with a definitive 'sploosh'. The dragon looked intently at the water for a moment, then, determining the knife wouldn't attack him anymore, looked at Hiccup - then completely relaxed, sitting on its hind legs, looking for all the world like an oversize reptilian… _cat_!

Hiccup gingerly held out the fish with two hands. The dragon murmured, slowly stepping forward, gaze constantly flicking between him and the fish. He had no teeth.

"Huh," Hiccup murmured, breaking the silence. "Toothless. I could have sworn you had -"

-_SNAP-_

The dragon's teeth shot out from hidden compartments in its gums, and, nabbing the fish from Hiccup's suddenly paralyzed fingers, swallowed the whole fish with a slice and a gulp.

"...teeth," Hiccup finished weakly. The dragon, noticing him again, crawled towards him, curious. Hiccup misunderstood the movement. "No, no no no. I… I don't have any more," he stammered, backing up along the ground into a rock. The beast was not a foot from his face. He could have _kissed_ it.

Though, any action at that point on his part would _probably_ have been darkening his pants.

A moment passed, then the dragon's eyes rolled back into its head. Small 'phlew' noises came from its slightly open maw, as it began to rhythmically shake. With a decisive hack, it regurgitated a partially digested fish onto Hiccup's lap.

"Euuchh.." Hiccup sighed anticlimactically. The Night Fury slowly sat back till it was on its hind legs, staring intently at him.

When nothing seemed to be happening, Hiccup breathed silently, puffing out his cheeks, and tucked his legs a little further underneath him. The Night Fury looked down at the fish, then back at Hiccup. Looking at the fish in bewilderment, Hiccup realized that the dragon wanted him to… eat… the raw fish. Sighing, not about to refuse a force of nature, he took a hesistant bite, and gave the dragon a queasy smile. "Mmmm..." he managed through the mouthful of fish he was _not_ going to swallow. The dragon perked up. "Mm-hmm!" Hiccup hummed, offering the dragon the fish again.

The dragon made a swallowing motion. Hiccup, all hopes lost, swallowed the slimy mouthful. He managed to stifle his stomach's rebellion - barely. The dragon smacked his lips in sympathetic delight. Hiccup gave the beast a sarcastic smile he hardly felt himself. When the dragon peered intently at him, Hiccup was curious... what was it doing?

Then Hiccup realized the curling of the dragon's lips was not a growing snarl.

The dragon was _smiling_ at him! Or, at least, making a really good attempt at it.

Hiccup, emboldened, stood up, and reached a hand out. The smile turned into a snarl, the teeth jutted out again, and the dragon was suddenly over on the other side of the cove.

It began to spray a weak flame, scorching the ground beneath it. Stamping out its fires, it slumped back onto the ground, resting its head on its front paws.

A bird chirped above, and the Night Fury watched with a twinge of envy as it calmly flitted away. Its gaze dropped to the boy in front of him, sitting placidly. The boy gave a little wave, and the Night Fury sighed, and curled its tail around itself.

After some time, not feeling the boy's footfalls at all, the Night Fury lifted his tail, to catch the boy red-handed reaching for his damaged fin. The boy, obviously embarrassed, quickly got up and spun on his heel, leaving the Night Fury alone. The dragon sighed, and went to go curl up in a tree.

Evening came and the dragon woke up. Looking left and right, he spotted the boy sitting hunched over a rock, doing something with a stick. He waddled over to investigate.

Hiccup was making a small line sketch doodle of the Night Fury, when a large shadow fell over his shoulder. Painfully aware that his subject was now looking at his drawing, he took special care in the rest of the portrait. Drawing two almond shaped eyes, he finished the small ear platings above the neck, paying special care to the curve of the jawline. Hearing large stomping fade from behind him, he looked to see exactly what the dragon was doing.

The Night Fury had broken off the stem of a fairly large tree, and was using it to draw its own sketch. Hiccup was astounded at the beast's intelligence. It was _mimicking_ him, for crying out loud!

As the Night Fury purred his approval for the drawing, Hiccup stood up. It didn't look like anything to him, but it must have meant something to the dragon. He took a step forward, in order to get a better view of the whole thing -

_Snarrrlllll…_

He looked. The Night Fury had curled a lip in a very unhappy snarl. Hiccup took a step back, and the dragon resumed his purring. Hiccup took the step forward, only to be greeted by another snarl. Looking down, he saw he was stepping on the line the dragon had drawn.

Hiccup took an extra-long step outwards, and stepped over the line. The dragon didn't snarl, so Hiccup gave it a small grin and continued onwards.

The lines made it tricky to go anywhere. Hiccup found himself practically pirouetting in order to keep his balance as he stepped from open patch to open patch.

Suddenly - there was no more sunlight.

A puff of air came from above, and he slowly spun around and looked up. There, in all its greatness, was the Night Fury. Its pupils were… well, not large. But they weren't cat slits, either. He reached out to touch -

_Grr._

Drawing his hand back, he went for a second, slower attempt.

_Grrrrrrrr…_

Hiccup withdrew his hand, rubbing his fingers together thoughtfully. Then he just figured, _Ah well. It hasn't eaten me yet… probably won't now._

So he closed his eyes, and stretched out his arm.

He couldn't hear what the dragon was doing behind him, but he hoped - OH. OH WOW.

He… the dragon… the dragon was touching him. He was touching a _dragon_. Not in war…. no. The dragon's nose felt… smooth. A little bumpy under the scales, of course… but WOW. HE WAS TOUCHING A DRAGON. He peeked out from under an eyelid at the sight before him. The dragon's liquid black eyes stared at him out of a coal black face. Then it shook its head, the pupils shrank, and the moment was over, as it flopped away.

Hiccup realized his heart was going a mile a minute. Trying to calm himself down, he tried to figure out what had just happened. _I… I touched… a dragon...it touched me…_

* * *

Gobber was telling the teens another tall tale. They were sitting around by a fire on top of one of the watchtowers. It was a bright night, with the moon shining in full force, but the fire was there for comfort, light, and cooking. The teens and Gobber each had chickens of varying sizes, but Hiccup just had a fish.

"...and with one twist, he took my hand, and swallowed it whole," Gobber summarized. "And I saw the look on his face. I was delicious! He must have passed the word because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg." Here he procured his two stumps, to the teen's eager faces.

Fishlegs threw in his own two cents. "Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon? Like, if your mind was still in control of it," he said, slapping his drumsticks together for emphasis, "you could have killed the dragon by crushing his heart… or something -"

"I swear, I'm so _angry_ right now!" Snotlout said vehemently through clenched teeth. "I'll avenge your beautiful hand _and _your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight. With my _face_."

"Mm, mm, mm, mm, no," Gobber corrected, ripping off a chicken wing for effect. "It's the _wings_ and the _tails_ you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a _dead_ dragon." Hiccup looked up from his very dead fish, making a very profound realization.

Gobber yawned, "Alright, I'm off to bed. You should be too," he said, waving his speared chicken in their direction. "Tomorrow, we get to the big boys," he said, watching the teens' faces lighting up with excitement. That was probably the best part of his job, he mused. Training new recruits for the village. Always brought a tear to his eye when they graduated.

"Slowly, but surely, we'll make our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare," he continued. "But who'll win the honor of killing it?" He let that sink in as he left the fireside.

"It's gonna be me," Tuffnut piped up. "It's my destiny. See?"

Fishlegs gasped at the ornate marking on Tuffnut's now-bare arm. "You got a tattoo!?"

"It's not a tattoo," Tuffnut shot back indignantly. "It's a birthmark."

Ruffnut interjected: "Okay, I've been with you since birth, and that was _never_ there before."

"Yes, it was. You've just never seen me from the left side until now."

"It wasn't there yesterday," Snotlout remarked, skeptically. "Is it a birthmark or a today-mark?"

Astrid suddenly noticed one of their group was missing. Where was Hiccup?

Hearing a quiet clunking, she managed to catch the fleeting glance of Hiccup's vest as he departed the circle. Curious, she let the matter drop, heading back to finish her chicken and brace for Snotlout's incessant flirting.

* * *

Hiccup had an idea.

No, it wasn't a weapon. No, it wasn't a tool. Well… it was more of a tail, really. Specifically, a half-tail.

Sketching a rough model on his original drawing of Toothless, he made a far more intricate drawing on a larger piece of parchment.

Taking a busted shield from the repair pile - it wouldn't be missed - he began ripping metal off it with purpose. Peeling a strip from the rim, he set it aside.

Pushing hard on the bellows, he soon got a very hot fire smouldering away. Taking the strip of metal, he softened it just enough. Taking a hammer from the tool rack, he began pounding expertly at the strip, years of experience manifesting themselves in his hands. The strip slowly coagulated and straightened into a thin cylindrical rod. Cooling it quickly in a nearby barrel of water, he skinned the impure flakes off, reheating and reshaping the metal till it was a desired hardness.

Using a pair of tongs, he pulled off the metal nails holding the center hub in place. Gently hammering, he pried off the thick tails, and placed them in a crucible sitting in the firepit. Hammering the heads, he got them painstakingly into a round shape. Dropping them into a crucible of whale oil (the finest imported), he began to work at a feverish pace, stopping only for frequent mouthfuls of water.

After working for several hours, he began to put his project together. Sliding some old sail fabric onto the radial fin supports, he fastened the bindings in place.

Finally done, he held up his finished work. Snapping the tail together with a satisfying thunk, he managed to catch a few hours of exhausted sleep.

* * *

**Just a note, there will be no chapter tomorrow; I'm heading to my G&G's for Easter.**

**Peace!**

**- J.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So. 10,000 words already. I got a small novel on my hands!**

**Reviewing Reviews:**

**:C I can't. You didn't give me any.**

* * *

Hiccup had managed to convince a Viking that it was imperative that the chief's son would now have a satchel of assorted fresh fish delivered to the back doorstep every morning. As most of the men on the island (and a good bit of the women too) were...let's say, not the sharpest axe in the shed…. it was relatively easy to persuade them to do just about anything.

Although… Hiccup was kind of regretting _where_ he specified the basket to be put. It was necessary, he figured, to keep the secret, but then again, muscles were never his forte.

Lugging the stuffed basket through the woods, his tail wrapped carefully and slung under his arm, he stumbled through the woods, into the cove. He had given the Night Fury a name; Toothless seemed apt; hey, it was better than 'Blackie'.

"Hey, Toothless," he called. The dragon, responding to him, got up from his scalded rock to pad over. Hiccup inwardly grinned. Toothless seemed to take to his newly-christened name with gusto. "I brought breakfast," he said, plopping the overweight basket to the ground. "I hope," he grunted, pushing it over with his foot, "I hope you're hungry." As the fish splatted to the ground, Hiccup's stomach did a little flip. And not the lovesick kind. "Oookay, that's disgusting," he grimaced. Toothless didn't mind; in fact, he began devouring the fish with single intent.

"So, I got you some salmon -" _GULP!_ "...Some nice Icelandic cod -" Gone! "...and a whole smoked eel."

Toothless' eyes began to take on a catlike-slit -look, and he growled, backing away from the offending eel.

Hiccup picked it up, and Toothless reared back, snarling in fear. "NO? No, No! No, okay, okay," he said, tossing the long sea creature aside. Toothless shook out his head, then went back to the fish. "Yeah, I don't really like eel much, either," Hiccup empathized. Toothless was all but ignoring him as he began to eat the seafood with gusto.

Hiccup took careful quiet note, and went back to his job. Having Toothless efficiently distracted, he took out his 'wing', which he guessed could be called a prosthetic, now. Unwrapping it, he pushed it towards Toothless' tail. When the tail jerked back, Hiccup looked at Toothless. The dragon was busy tossing back another fish, so he continued his delicate work.

The tail would not stop moving! He wrestled with it, finally giving up and _sitting_ on the infernal thing. That seemed to do the trick - it stopped at least - so he began to cinch the straps tighter.

* * *

Toothless looked up from the basket of fish. There was one left in it, which was stubbornly refusing to enter his mouth, but that was unimportant right now. What _was_ important was that his tail felt...tight…. like there was something stuck to it. That, and the human had wandered off somewhere. He wiggled his back experimentally, then something _tightened_ and his back slumped. He didn't feel anything from back there anymore, so he began to spread his wings on a whim…

* * *

Hiccup let the fin splay out on its own. Admiring his handiwork, he commented to himself, "Ehh, 's not bad… it works…" Then the ground seemed to rocket away. He yelled, startled, as he realized he was airborne. "WHOA! NO, NO, NO…" The ground seemed to approach again, and he realized that his prosthetic, which had spread so easily on the ground, was struggling to open in the high winds it now found itself. Inching forward along Toothless' tail, he clutched the leading edge, and yanked hard on the frame. The tail snapped open and his stomach dropped for the second time in as many seconds. As Toothless rocketed for the sky, Hiccup looked around him. The view he had was okay, but what he would give to look _forward_! Still… perhaps this was enough to start with. "It, it's working!" he cried, elated.

Toothless did a banking curve, and the prosthetic held up beautifully. "Yes! Yes, I did it!"

Just as they were coming back over the cove, Toothless seemed to notice for the first time that he had a passenger. With a flick of his tail, he sent Hiccup whiplashing forward, to skim the water once, twice - DUNK.

Turning to leave Berk in the dust - he found he couldn't turn to leave Berk in the dust. His tail… wouldn't… budge! He looked behind him… to see something metal sticking onto of his tail….

Then he too hit water.

Hiccup jumped out of the water with a "Yeah!" His high spirits couldn't be drowned now.

* * *

"Today, is all about teamwork," Gobber had said to Hiccup. "Work together, and you _might_ survive."

Gobber's advice looped through Hiccup's mind as he stood back to back with Fishlegs.

"Now, a wet dragon's head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is _extra_-tricky… One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

Hiccup had had the option of choosing which teen he would want to be paired up with.

The Thorston twins were a definite nope; their combined intelligence probably exceeded that of an ox. Probably.

He would have desperately wanted to be partnered with Astrid, except for her frown. That frown told him that if he picked her as his partner, she'd pick him flowers for his grave.

Snotlout was an alternative, but for the fact that he'd probably punch his cousin's face in, then blame it on the dragon.

So Hiccup had settled for the knowledgeable Fishlegs. Hopefully some of his dragon smarts would rub off onto Hiccup, who desperately needed them. Now, Hiccup was regretting his choice, and was wondering whether Snotlout had been a better choice.

"Razor-sharp serrated teeth," Fishlegs was muttering, "injects venom for predigestion. Prefers ambush attack, sneaking up on its prey -"

"Will you please stop that!" Hiccup snapped, in a hoarse whisper.

The arena was covered in greenish flammable smoke, courtesy of the Zippleback in question. All the teens had a bucket of water.

The twins were split by gender among the other two. Snotlout and Tuffnut were both circling, also back to back, looking for the slightest excuse to let out with two pails of water. "If that dragon shows… _either_ of his faces," Snotlout was boasting. Again. "I'm gonna - There!" he shouted, pointing at a horned shadow in the smoke. The boys dumped their buckets in that direction - to be accompanied by two somewhat less-than-dragonish yells. "Heyy!" spluttered Astrid in anger. "It's _us_, idiots," Ruffnut said, the smoke around them dissipating slightly. Sometimes she wondered if they didn't _intentionally_ throw water on her.

"Your butts are getting bigger," Tuffnut offered by way of excuse. "We thought you were a dragon." He chuckled, and Snotlout picked up the hint. "Not that there's anything wrong with… a dragonesque figur - Ow!" he grunted, an Astrid-sized fist filling his face for a second. Tuffnut chuckled again, to be met with a bucket on the head, air-mail from his sister. He hit the ground on his behind, and was about to get up - but he was yanked back into the green smoke, an uncharacteristic hollering coming from… somewhere. Ruffnut prepared to run after her brother into the smoke, when Astrid stayed her arm with a "Wait." A rustle - then they too were knocked off their feet, Astrid's bucket dumping its contents almost comically over them both.

"OhhhhH!" Tuffnut screeched, running past Fish and Hiccup. "OHhh, I am hurt! I am VERY MUCH HURT!"

"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now," Fishlegs cautioned.

A single Zippleback head snaked out of the mist, snarling gutturally.

"Whoa, whoa whoa, whoa!" Fishlegs yelped. Almost as an afterthought, he chucked his bucket's contents at the head.

A perfect shot! thought Hiccup. Until…

The head seemed to chuckle, and green gas flowed over its teeth. "Oh.." Fishlegs grimaced. "Wrong head." It doused him in gas, and he ran off, hollering. The head seemed to notice Hiccup for the first time, and the second one joined it, the beast's movement making the smoke slowly dissipate.

"NOW, HICCUP!" Gobber bellowed. Hiccup obligingly chucked his bucket's contents straight at the dragon's _sparking_ head. It would have been a direct hit, but for the lack of Hiccup's arm muscles. "Oh come on," Hiccup groaned, as the beast seemed to laugh at him.

It snapped at him, and Hiccup was forced onto his rear, scootching back.

"HICCUP!" Gobber bellowed, afraid for his life. He began to charge out to help the chief's son, when something made him stop after no more than three giant steps.

The dragon… was backing off!

Hiccup was getting up, and his hands were forcing the dragon…

"Back… back… back!" Hiccup commanded the beast. "Now, d-don't you make me tell you again! Yes, that's right." The Zippleback was almost completely pressed up against the back of its cage, snarling fearfully. "Back into your cage…"

Hiccup retrieved an eel from under his vest. Carefully, making sure that the others couldn't see him, he tossed it onto the floor in front of the Zippleback. It was almost crawling up the sheer stone wall in its cave, trying to get as far away from the offending seafood as possible. "Now think about what you've done," Hiccup finished, slamming the doors shut.

As he closed the doors, he let them swing shut, and rubbed his hands clean on his vest, slowing and stopping as he realized that all the others were staring at him, slack-jawed. Fishlegs dropped his bucket.

"Okay!" Hiccup said with finality. "So, are we done? 'Cause I got some things I need to...ah… yep. I'll see… see you tomorrow!"

Astrid watched him go with a sneer, covering up her absolute astonishment.

Did he just defeat a Zippleback, single-handedly, without a weapon in sight?

* * *

Musical selection: u.b e /SagTkN19veU?t=26m26s

* * *

Hiccup's new double life suited him well. Already forced to keep secret weapons from the master blacksmith, hiding a dragon was not much more difficult. Sure, he had to constantly come up with excuses why the basket of fish constantly needed replenishing, and why he wanted to be alone for so long. But no one questioned him for too long. He was Hiccup, after all. How dangerous could he be?

The new tail was inadequate, Hiccup soon found out. It needed a control mechanism. Attaching a rope to it, he went for a test run with Toothless. Yanking on it brought it in his control, but yank too hard? Wheeee….

His face definitely went through quite the testing.

So he made a saddle. Crafting one was fairly easy; there was plenty of oxhide strips laying about, and a whalebone needle was easily pilfered, and wouldn't be missed. After a few false starts, a very elegant saddle lay on the forge floor. Toothless, on the other hand, didn't think much of it, and Hiccup had to chase him down. It was all in fun, he realized, later, attached to Toothless via ring and rope. Toothless was really his true first friend.

"Whoa!" he said, the dragon suddenly disappearing from below him.

Running to a stop, he turned back to examine the damage - to find Toothless rolling around in the grass. But it wasn't grass, he saw. It was some kind of tall, thin-stalked plant that _looked_ like grass. He promptly named it 'dragon-nip'.

That dragon nip turned out to be particularly useful in the ring that afternoon. As a Gronckle headbutted Snotlout to the other side of the arena, it locked on Hiccup and charged. Hiccup pulled out a handful of fresh dragon-nip and held it in front. As the Gronckle came to a screeching halt, Hiccup began to rub the 'nip all over its nose. None of the teens could see what he was doing, and the Gronckle just flopped over, apparently disabled by a fishbone with a limp arm.

Afterwards, the teens all swarmed him, pestering him with questions. "I...I left my axe, back in the ring. You go ahead," he said, dodging out of the circle and narrowly missing Astrid. "I'll catch up with ya."

One person in particular was suspicious. Good ol' Astrid. But, remember, Astrid, he's just… Hiccup. What could he possibly be doing behind everyone's back?

* * *

Hiccup was giving Toothless a head scratch. It was the one place the dragon was unable to reach, and he purred as Hiccup continued to ease his itchiness. Hiccup reached under his chin to scratch at a somewhat flatter spot - and the Night Fury promptly sighed, collapsed, and began to purr, grinning in a state of almost sleep.

Hiccup, amazed and a little unsure of himself, decided to use it…

...that afternoon. As a Nadder charged him, he dropped his shield and sword, and cringed as it began to sniff him over. Astrid's yell momentarily distracted it, and, as it prepared to leap at her, Hiccup gave it a rubdown. Its eyes fluttered, and Hiccup reached under its chin - and the Nadder collapsed, Astrid on its other side, axe all but swinging at Hiccup. "Gah," she sighed, as she saw him as he stood up from disabling the beast.

That night, at dinner, his table was rushed by Vikings, all wondering how in the world he had done it!

Astrid pounded the table with her fist, also wondering both how the fishbone had done it, and where her limelight was going?

* * *

Hiccup quickly discovered that Toothless loved chasing things, whether it was his shadow (from which he got quickly bored) to his rider (who didn't enjoy it as much as the Fury). However, Hiccup found that the reflection of sunlight on polished metal made for a very effective distraction. He almost found himself laughing as Toothless hunted down the wild sunbeam.

* * *

Gobber himself introduced the next dragon. "Meet the Terrible Terror," he said, lifting the beam to the gate. A very small dragon, about the length Hiccup's arm, scuttled out, eyeing the teens with a tongue on one eyeball.

"Ha!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "It's like the size of my -" He was cut off by an angry Terror trying to bite his nose off.

Hiccup, having not dashed away like all the other teens, shone a reflection at the Terror. It quickly left a howling Tuffnut behind, following the reflection to the door it had just come out of.

"Wow," Astrid heard Tuffnut say behind her. "He's better than you _ever_ were." She glared at him, a sickening feeling in her stomach convincing her that he might just be right…

Hiccup looked up from where he had just put the Terror back, with an apologetic half-grin.

She fumed. How _dare_ he impeach on her standing! She was _far_ better than him!

She needed to cool off. Heading for the woods, her favourite axe in tow, everyone was wise to stay very much out of her way.

"NyaahhH!" she shouted, sinking her throwing axe in a tree. Grabbing it and flipping, she turned to throw - at Hiccup. She halted herself in time to keep from killing a fellow Viking… limelight thief though he may have been.

He shrugged, and continued on deeper into the woods. She gave him half a second, then darted after him, taking a shortcut to a rock - to find nothing. He was gone.

She pounded the rock, once more foiled.

* * *

**Two chapters in one day! I'm **_**spoiling**_** you!**

**C:**

**- J.**

**P.S. No chapter tomorrow. Sorry. *shrugs***


	6. Chapter 6

**First off, let me apologize PROFUSELY for the extra-long delay! My good 'ol Canadian Internet quit on me just as I was finishing this chapter up.**

**Here it is, though. **_**Finally**_**, I know...**

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** kitty.0: Glad to see I have **_**some**_** talent. :P**

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** LordVader12345: Well here you go!**

** Guest: *iz updatng***

* * *

Hiccup, having narrowly escaped Astrid's wary gaze, found himself forgetting about all that nonsense. She couldn't find him. He was perfectly safe in the cove. It was his home away from home, and the time he spent here was beginning to grow increasingly smaller. So he savoured every second he got with Toothless.

Keeping Toothless busy with a basket of fish, Hiccup began to fasten a new design to Toothless' legs. This ring would allow Toothless full motor flexibility, while keeping the rope away from his abrasive scales.

* * *

The harness was working perfectly. The wind roaring past Hiccup's ears was incredible! The level flight, the perfect balance… the rope anchoring them _to the ground_…

Still, the ringed harness worked wonders. The pedals were a stroke of genius; all he had to was twist his ankles just so and they landed. Writing the ankle position down, a gust of wind caught the leading edge of Toothless' wing, and the duo went sprawling back into the woods. Hiccup was pulled up by his belt, and, standing up, saw the problem: the ring that anchored him to Toothless' saddle was jammed in. "Oh great…"

* * *

Hoark enjoyed being a scout. It kept him on his feet, kept him fit and active, and thinner than your average 'chunky'-sized Viking. Sure, he prefered the tower - being high up always gave him a bit of a thrill - but he didn't mind night-patrol, so long as the pesky teenagers would _stay indoors_ during curfew. But, it was still a few hours to curfew, so when he passed Hiccup on the road, he thought nothing of the gangly youth's presence there leaning on a house. "Hiccup," was all that was traversed between them, and Hoark continued on into the night.

* * *

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief as the Viking passed. Tugging on the makeshift 'leash' that bound him to Toothless, he managed to steer him to the forge, where he could actually remove the problem. He was just about done…

* * *

Toothless remembered this village. This was the one with the angry men and the catapults. But the little human seemed to be happy enough here, so the dragon decided it was happy too. But there were no fish! What was a fishing village without fish? No fish in that bucket, none in that barrel…

* * *

Astrid had just dropped off her axe at the unoccupied forge, when she heard a loud bashing and clanging coming from the forge. _Figures._ A light went on, and she went back to see who was there.

"Hiccup? You in there?"

She heard a bit more clanging, then he just jumped out of the window in front of her, landing somewhat awkwardly, pressed up to the window. "Astrid! Hey! Hi! Astrid, hi, Astrid. Hi Astrid."

_This kid is the epitome of awkwardness,_ she inwardly grimaced. Though… he was nearly as tall as her, not really a kid at all… Shrugging off the thought, she remembered why she wanted to talk to him. "I normally don't care what people do, but you're acting weird." Hiccup suddenly jerked backward towards the shop, and chuckled, nervously. "Well, weirder," she corrected, backing off a little. He continued to laugh a little to himself, then almost squeaked as he began to slide...up the wall? Suddenly he was yanked out of sight, through the doors. Running forward, she slammed the shutters open - to an empty, dark shop.

Peering left, right, not minding the breeze over her shoulder, she looked around the shop. Was she seeing things? She distinctly remembered Hiccup being _right here_…

* * *

As the battered, torn-sailed longboat pulled into port, absolutely stuffed with men (and women), the linesmen on shore could hardly recognize her for the beautiful ship that had left port two months prior. And….where three had left, only one came back. Stuffed chock full of people, to be sure, but still… there was not three boat's worth of people there.

As they glumly left the boat, Gobber hobbled down to meet up with Stoick. "I trust you found the nest, at least?" he asked, taking his chief's bag.

"Not. Even. Close," the red-haired chief replied, spitting out each word like venom.

"Oh. Excellent," Gobber griped.

"I hope you had a little more success than me," Stoick hoped, starting the walk up the gangway.

"Well, if by success you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then… yes."

Stoick tried to puzzle out exactly what that meant when -

"Congratulations, Stoick!" yelled a Viking, jogging past them. "Everyone is sooo relieved!"

"Out with the old, and in with the new, right?"

"No one'll miss tha' old nuisance!"

"The village is throwing a party to celebrate!"

Stoick was...shocked… If Gobber was… and they had…

"He's _gone_?"

"Erm, yeah, most afternoons, but, I mean, who can blame him? I mean, the life of a celebrity's _very_ rough; he can hardly walk through the village without being swarmed by his new fans."

Stoick, absolutely stumped as to what was happening, asked the first thing that came to mind. Grabbing Gobber's shoulder, he spun the other man around with a "Hiccup?"

"Who would have thought it, eh?" Gobber was absolutely enjoying himself. That and Stoick's expression. "He has this...way with the beasts."

Stoick suddenly realized that he was not dreaming. His son, long-time outcast and local incompetent… a dragon killer after all? This… this was great!

He'd have to talk to Hiccup sometime, sometime soon. But first: chiefing.

* * *

_Now_ they were flying, Hiccup thought. _Man, this is beautiful…_

They had climbed till they were about one mile straight up, then they leveled off; Hiccup needed to practice, and he knew it. "Okay, there, bud, we're gonna take this _nice_ and slow…"

Checking his cheat sheet, clipped onto his harness, he mulled over the options, till he decided on the correct position for the bank. "Here we go, here we go…. Position three. No, four."

Toothless rolled his eyes. Humans…

Clicking the pedals, Hiccup got the tail to snap open just so. He checked over his shoulder repeatedly, and as the duo rolled into a swooping bank, did an inner fist pump, not exactly trusting himself enough to actually let go of the saddle. Not just yet.

Switching the tail back to glide mode, he selected an appropriate obstacle. A natural stone arch, about a half kilometer away - not that far when you're flying. "Come, on, buddy, _come_ on!"

Except for an initial wing-touching-water right at the beginning, the maneuver was perfect. "Yeah!"

Hiccup quickly looked from side to side. The harness was holding up beautifully; no signs of abrasions at all. "Yes, it worked!"

They moved on to more difficult maneuvers. Such as maneuvering in between large stone pillars without hitting any of them. Except for that one.

"Sorry," Hiccup apologized.

And that one. "My fault."

Toothless, a little irritated at Hiccup's persistent failings, decided a smack upside the head would help. "Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," Hiccup shot back, just as irritated at himself as the dragon was. "Position four. No, three." They began to climb, and Hiccup made the mistake of looking down. Berk was growing smaller by the second. He could stick his foot out and block out the whole village. He gulped, and clung just a little tighter to the dragon underneath him.

Then he saw how high he was. "YEAH! Go baby! YES!" Elated was not a strong enough word for how he felt. "Oh this is amazing! The wind in my - cheat sheet!" A rogue gust of wind snatched the cheat sheet out of its clip, just out of arm reach. "STOP!" he instinctively yelled. Toothless obliged, and they stopped in midair long enough for Hiccup to grab the sheet again. Only… physics was taking its toll, and Hiccup's dual ring system had come loose. Both of them.

Hiccup and Toothless were officially in free fall.

"Oh gods!" Hiccup yelled. "Oh no!" He could see Toothless was in as big trouble as he was.  
**  
**"Alright, okay. You just gotta, kinda angle yourself." Toothless responded, but that put him in a spiral. Hiccup found himself trying to dodge the flailing wings of the dragon. "No, no, come back down towards me." Bracing himself, he got his body spread-eagled against the rushing winds. He angled himself towards Toothless - "Come back down - OW." Toothless whacked him with his wing, sending Hiccup momentarily spiraling, but at least the dragon straightened out. Hiccup reached for the saddle… two inches… one inch… half an inch… _leather_.

Yanking himself forward into the saddle, he stuffed the sheet in his mouth and grabbed on with both hands. Just as they pulled out of the fog, he could see the treetops - very closely below him. "MMMMMMMMMMM!" he yelled, muffled. He yanked back on Toothless, and the dragon spread his wings, slowing their descent - but not quickly enough. Hiccup looked ahead to see dozens of rock pillars extending out of the sea - all seeming to crowd in, waiting for him to make just one false move...then join them forever. His tribe would never know what had happened to him, the teens would continue training without him… no one would really care that much… In the split second before he had to make a decision, Astrid's face floated into his mind. And that was enough. He'd live, if only to kiss the ground she walked on.

Bleah, that sounded needy.

Pulling the leather sheet out of his teeth, he attempted to look at it, and found that, what with all the wind, actually reading anything was impossible. He took one look at the pillars, another at the sheet, and tossed it away.

Grabbing the saddle with both hands now, he let instinct take over. Zipping into the pillars at near-supersonic, he clicked the pedals up - left turn. Down - right turn. Crossways - barrel roll. He let his writing come back to him at its own pace, and began to trust his instincts. The world seemed to slow, and he found himself… in the zone.

Most Vikings reported that sometimes, in the middle of a fight, they would feel their hand move on its own, to land a perfect blow, or occasionally, have time seem to almost stop. They were dismissed as the stories of drunken men. Though, now Hiccup realized that maybe their stories had some merit.

As the rocks moved by at ponderous speed, Hiccup found himself easily adapting to his newfound…. not quite 'power', nor 'ability', but intuition. Flying seemed to come naturally, he figured.

The last stack began to speed by, and time seemed to become normal again. Hiccup looked behind him, almost not believing that it had happened. Then he realized another thing. He hadn't noticed his leg move at all, but there it was - it was working the tail completely on its own. He grinned, then let out an elated "YEAAAAHHHH!"

Toothless, also pleased at the new development, squealed in happiness, and launched a fireball. It exploded, and Hiccup's elation turned to weariness as he saw… they were headed right for it's center.

"Aw, come on…"

* * *

Hiccup gazed into the small fire, currently cooking his fish, and contemplated life. Specifically, his life.

His cousin hated his guts, he was an embarrassment to his dad, and the girl he so longed to actually _talk_ to seemed to notice him only when she tripped over him. The other guys? And, and Ruffnut. Well… they were just… there…

Hearing a wet, choking noise, he turned to see Toothless regurgitating a fish head. The dragon looked up at him quizzically. "Ah, no thanks, I'm good," Hiccup managed, displaying his pleasantly fried fish. Toothless shrugged and went back to his pile.

Looking up at a weird flapping, clacking noise, Hiccup watched as a small group of Terrors almost crash-landed near the fire, crawling up, curiously sniffing about. Keeping an eye on his dragon to make sure that he wouldn't react, Hiccup watched the Terrors, feeling the tension.

One Terror, obviously bold enough, darted up to snatch the fish head away. Toothless's head rose, but he didn't react other than that. As another Terror came to claim the prize, the first Terror shot a pinpoint fireball, bowling the other dragon over.

Toothless watched the kerfuffle, then turned quickly back to his pile - to see a fish apparently stand up and start walking away. Hang on… that was just yet another Terror….

Snatching at the fish, Toothless easily ripped it out of the smaller dragon's grip, chuckling at it as he wolfed the seafood down. As the diminutive dragon spat out its bony mouthful, it growled, a weak purr in comparison, Hiccup thought.

He could see its gases actually coagulate, as it prepa-

FOOMP! It expanded quite suddenly, looking for all the world like an inflated pig's bladder. **[A/N no balloons in their time, so….] **Hiccup saw then how Toothless had shot a little fireball into the smaller dragon. "Hunh. Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?"

He tossed the little creature a fish, almost by way of apology. "Here ya go." It eyed the fish for about half a second, before gulping the whole thing down in about three swallows. Then it eyed Hiccup. It scuttled up to him, staring up at the boy with beady, reptilian eyes… before purring and cuddling up to him. Hiccup, astonished, gingerly laid a hand on the dragon's back. "Everything we know about you guys….. is wrong!"

* * *

**Okay, guys, you asked, and I will deliver. Expect a little more story deviation and a little more Hiccstrid!**

**Next time, on the HTTYD Show…**

**C:  
**

**- J.**


	7. Chapter 7

**NEW PIC!**

* * *

"**Ask and ye shall receive…"**

**So. It is time… to POLKA! **

**Okay, okay, calm yourselves. Sit **_**down.**_** That's better.**

**Now. This part of the story is gonna be **_**completely**_** my work. Almost **_**TOTAL and COMPLETE DEVIATION FROM THE STORY**_**.**

**You have been warned…**

**REVIEWING REVIEWS:**

** Foxy'sGirl: Again, thank you for taking the time to review the story! Everyone who likes Hiccstrid AU, go check this author out! "Chasing Thunderstorms" is what you need to look for.**

**Yeah, I know it's kinda like a story. I'm working on it.**

** halobeast-117: That's **_**exactly**_** where I got it from. You like-ee?**

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** kitty.0: Yeah, I noticed you didn't notice. :P I hope to include the zone later… *cough*RedDeath*cough***

** Angryhenry: It's coming, don't worry. **

* * *

_CLANG!_

Hiccup drew back the hammer, and swung at the sword again. The feeling of tempered steel being shaped under his control always made him feel a little more confident in life. It also made him feel a little more humble, as well; the fact that men put their lives in his hands - literally - when he made their weapons true and strong… that was a sobering thought. But he rose to the challenge, and soon Gobber had the beginnings of a rival for forging steel.

As the metal rod slowly began to look less and less like a dirty, busted drainpipe and more and more like an actual sword, Hiccup let his mind drift off…

He had never been one for the limelight. That was Astrid's spot, he was well-aware, and she did well to keep it. That is, he reminisced, until he, the underdog, completely began to sweep away the competition. By defeating Tuffnut in shield-to-shield combat, that had gained him a footing in the teens. Tuffnut wasn't that ticked, either. He (Tuffnut) was actually quite good with a shield. They all were. Hiccup found _that_ out after defeating Tuffnut's tomboyish sister. She had grinned and offered to shake hands. Hiccup, being the naive sort of guy he was, had accepted and promptly found himself flat on his back on the cold stone floor, with a sore arm and a damaged ego to boot.

Still. The footing that Hiccup now had? That had put him into the circle of teens for real. Now, when Snotlout scootched over to block Hiccup from sitting down, all Hiccup had to do was wait until his cousin had backed down from Fishlegs' glare. The bulkier boy had definitely taken his own - size-wise - and the twins had been betting to see if he'd be taller than Stoick before his 18th.

*Knock* *knock* *knock*

_Speak of_, Hiccup thought, looking out the window to see Fishlegs politely waiting outside. "Door's open," he called, turning back to the blade.

The oversize teen squeezed through the door into the more open shop. "Ahh… should I come back later when you're not working?"

"Nah," Hiccup grunted through swings. "I'm - off - work - this - is - for - fun - why?"

"Well… I needed to talk to you. There's a 86.7% chance you can help me with a… problem I have."

"What's - up?"

"It's about Ruffnut."

And there goes the hammer. Right off the sword and out of Hiccup's grip, making a rather ironic smash against a shield.

Hiccup went to pick it up, feeling a range of emotions surging in differing intensities. The most prominent was confusion. "So… you're telling me that you came here to talk about girls?" The hammer started up again. "Why - not - Snot - lout?"

"Because that jerk has eyes for his biceps and Astrid, and only one of those two is going to be around all the time." The venom in the blond's voice was almost tangible. Hiccup was almost staggered. "I take it you already spoke to him."

"Snotlout" - Fish used the name like a curse word - "is lucky if _anyone_ will hang around him."

"Well - what - is - the problem?" Hiccup set his hammer down to make talking with Fish easier. "I'll see what I can try to decipher."

* * *

"Nyaahhh!" _*THUNK*_

Ripping the axe easily out of the bark, Astrid took a swing at a practice dummy she had had Ruff set up with her. Made mostly out of wood, it was still easily decapitatable, as the multiple blocks of firewood attested to. Hell, if she didn't become the best dragon fighter in the village, she'd make an excellent woodcutter.

As she practiced her blade form, her attention waned, and she found herself thinking about the dragon practice earlier that day. The way Hiccup had downed the Gronckle just by… what? What _had_ he done? She had tried to do the same trick later, but all she ended up with was a busted shield and a grumpy Gronckle.

Come to think of it, Hiccup had been doing really well lately. Granted, it was probably just beginner's luck. No one was better than the infamous Astrid Hofferson, of _course_. That was just inconceivable. To be honest, though… he _was_ kind of good.

_And good-looking too._

The completely random thought completely shattered her concentration, and her axe slipped out of her hands, to fly into some stump off to the side. Where did _that_ come from? She shook herself, and went to get her axe.

The blade had sunk into the wood of the dummy's head, and didn't want to come out. That wasn't good. Taking the head off, she swung the blade at the ground, denting the reverse edge, but to no avail. The charcoal-painted smile seemed to almost leer at her incompetence. Frowning, she picked up a smaller log she had set aside earlier. Hucking it, she watched it land a good pace away. Okay, so she wasn't weak or anything. So that meant it was the blade.

Shoving the offending block between two trees, she yanked - hard - on the blade handle. Then three things happened, near-simultaneously. One, the axe came loose with an anti-climatic *pop*. Two, it flew out of her grip. Three, the handle broke off.

_Oh… _"Paska", she swore. She heard one distant clang, then a faint, sickening thunk. Running off, that stupid block glaring at her as she left, she desperately hoped to Thor she hadn't killed someone.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Hiccup and Fishlegs yelled.

"THERE'S AN AXE STABBING YOUR LEG!" the larger boy cried out.

"AAAHHH - no, no, wait. No, it's fine," Hiccup said, noticing that the double blade went completely _around_ his leg. Just two pointy steel ends were all that held the blade into the wooden stand that supported the anvil.

"Hmm… can you get it off?" Fish asked.

"Maybe… if I put the hammer… and use a wedge… and _shove…_" The axe head popped out of the anvil stand, and Hiccup gave his leg a quick once-over. It was uninjured, thank Odin…

"OhmyThorOhmyThorOhmyThorOhmyThorOhmyThorOhmyThorOhmyThorIamsosorryI'msosorry -" Astrid burst into the shop, to see - Hiccup and Fishlegs looking at her curiously.

"Ahem." She straightened her dress and regained her composure - well, 89% of it, Fishlegs thought - quickly. "I need my axe. Fixed. A-a-and sharpened."

_He _is_ kinda good-looking_.

Stop it brain! she yelled - internally - as she couldn't _quite_ restrain a blush.

Hiccup, not aware of either her stutter nor her blush, let his brow aim skyward. "Heck of a way of letting me know," he said, picking it up and starting to work on it. A little rude, yes, but what with the fact his heart was pounding away at his ribcage? It was an acceptable excuse.

And the blood rushing in his ears completely stifled the miniscule giggle Astrid let out at his remark.

Fishlegs eyed them both, a sharp brain's gears slowly beginning to grind towards a probable solution.

Astrid rocked on her heels, before just deciding that "Yeah, uh, I, ah, have things to do. I'll be back."

_Great. Now I'm starting to sound like Hiccup._

She left quickly, ears burning.

Stupid brain.

* * *

"Remind - me - again - why - you thought - talking to me - about girls - was a good - idea?"

Fishlegs summoned up his courage. "Because there is a 56% chance Astrid likes you."

And there went the hammer again. This time because Hiccup was laughing so hard.

"AH, gahh…" he finally caught his breath. "Astrid likes _me_. Me. Pfffth. Fat chance."

Then his logical mind kicked in. Well, Snotlout was a definite no. And so was Tuffnut. Fishlegs?

He imagined _that_ scenario for about one second before shuddering in horror. Gods. That was one image that'd scar him for life…

"Still… you know how she acts towards me."

"Yes," Fishlegs said matter-of-factly, deciding _not_ to tell Hiccup. Even though there was a 57% chance Hiccup would benefit from the information. "Yes, I know how she acts towards you."

Hiccup gave his newfound friend a wry grin. Snorting once, he shook his head, grinning. "Dude, me and Astrid? She'd eat me alive. If I tripped. Over her axe."

"Speaking of which…" He picked up the head of the axe. "I think this could use some definite work."

* * *

Well, after 4 sweltering hours in the forge (three of those with assistance from Fishlegs), he was finally done. And it sure looked like quite the axe now…

The blade, now much thinner, and plated with Gronckle iron, was about the same weight, though due to the larger span handled quite differently. Hiccup had forged a thin metal rod, and molding it into a sturdy oak limb, he had given the axe a handle that would (most likely) never fall off. Much better than just the wooden peg of a handle before it.

He had also added his own touch to it. Engraving two large A's in extremely rare silver, he had made the weapon her own. Wielding his finished product, he realized - he was actually wielding an axe. One-handed.

Maybe those hours on the back of a dragon actually was paying off, and in more ways than one, it would seem.

* * *

Astrid was lying in bed, staring up at the very ordinary wooden ceiling, trying to figure out what went wrong with the day.

True, the fairly large pile of firewood she had lugged back to the village had surprised even the other teens, but still. That wasn't enough. She wanted a Nadder's head on her bedroom wall. Okay… maybe not a Nadder. A Nightmare. Just go straight to the top. Yeah… _Then _how would Hiccup feel if he were shown up by a Nightmare-slaughtering girl?

She let out a small chuckle at the thought of her standing in front of him, absolutely drenched in dragon's blood, wielding her trophy like at some kind of sick sporting event.

Speaking of blood…

"GHAHHH." Bunching up, clutching her stomach, she remembered that it was the half-moon again.

Every moon cycle, almost to the day, she'd had bad cramps in her stomach for a few hours, then just a lingering pain that'd last the rest of the week. "Paska…"

This had been going on for several years, now, and she had quickly grown to hate it. As had apparently all the other women in Berk. So she wasn't alone in this, thank Thor.

She heard a knock at the door, and, since her parents were out on a date (Freya bless them, they loved each other), she got up to answer the door.

Hiccup was there, so she got herself more or less presentable. Opening the door, she… actually had to look up a bit at him. "Here's your axe," he said, holding the handle out in front of him.

She took it, forcing a smile her gut did _not_ feel. "Thank _you_," she said, clipped, and promptly slammed the door in his face.

* * *

Hiccup took a reflexive half-step back at the unexpected gesture.

_What were you saying, Fishlegs?_ he thought wryly, heading home for the night.

* * *

Astrid, who couldn't sleep anymore, decided she may as well check her axe out to see how badly Hiccup had repai -

"Oh. My. THOR!" she squealed, trying to stifle her noise at the same time.

It was BEAUTIFUL.

And - awww… did he really put her initials on the blade?

She blushed when she realized she was geeking out over _Hiccup_.

Well. His craftmanship.

She needed to test this blade out _now_.

* * *

"Yaahhh!" she said, cleaving the umpteenth log in half. She was getting used to the new blade, and how incredibly durable it was. When Hiccup did a job, he did _not_ half-ass it. At. All.

Then her mind drew a somewhat interesting picture of Hiccup and his… er… rear.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ she griped, whipping the axe almost absentmindedly into a tree. _Why am I even _thinking_ about him? He's the competition!_

Unable to cope with all the stupid emotions, she decided - You know what? Maybe sleep is a good idea after all.

* * *

**/watch?v=6fhyS23xmwU - not related to HTTYD**

**lololololol**

**- J**

**P.S. Any more fluff ideas?**

**P.P.S. So leave a review, please? It only takes 11.577 seconds to write I loved it, then click the Send Review button. C'mon, please. Anything. Seriously. Anything.**

**P.P.P.S. I wrote 90% of this at 1 am, so just be gentle in your reviewing. Blarg.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hee hee hee… you guys are gonna flip.**

**REVIEWING REVIEWS:**

** Random Guest (You know who you are) : Then you gon' love this…**

** aelienis: No… I couldn't possibly.**

** halobeast-117: No prob, man!**

** kitty.0: Don't worry… Fish is next. *evil grin***

** Cottonmouth25: Heh. Heh. Look down. (At the story, please.)**

** faisyah865: Hang on… Yeah… She says she'd rather not, thank you.**

** HiccupandShermanlover: Of course **_**you**_** would say that. XD JOKES! Jokes.**

** greenshade15: Well, here's the next one!**

** PurpleHeart678: Thanks! Here's hoping you read the rest of it too! :P**

* * *

Hiccup breathed in the night air, safe and secure thousands of feet up on the back of a dragon.

It had been a simple matter to convince the other teens to let him have this excursion. Well… maybe they didn't exactly know about it...

* * *

It had started when he had found, through an accidental eavesdropping of a slightly drunken Gobber, that the Book of Dragons wasn't even the Master Copy, and the original book could be found by following the instructions in the manual. Only thing was… there were no instructions. At all.

The whole thing was just Viking lore… At least, until Hiccup took the Book home for extra-curricular studying.

Things seemed hopeless - and he wanted to find the actual Book so badly - at which point he came across a very interesting fact… Some runes were not quite accurate… for example, a J had a little ink splotch near the base of the tail, or an A had a small extra tick near the top, or a K had a little curl at the end of the tail. The interesting thing was, though there were many of these imperfections, _every_ imperfect J had the splotch in the exact same spot. _Every_ imperfect A had an extra tick. _Every_ imperfect K had a little curl. (Don't worry, there were other letters as well…)

This was throughout the whole book. Then Hiccup had a bit of a revelation. He decided to write down _all_ the imperfections.

And what do you know? There were the instructions. All written out in neat little runes, all ready for the interpreting.

- I am not good at rhymes. So I won't try. Greetings Viking. You have an eye for the subtle. You will need it. To find the true Book of Dragons, you must travel -

Hiccup frowned. The sentence was incomplete. All the other words were simply: "left", "m", "right", "m", "left", "m", "38", "m", "4", "m", "51", "m", and the final word was "back". The m's were spacers, obviously, but the last word… On an impulse, he checked the backside of the manual. Nothing.

But the back cover did feel fairly heavy. Heavier than the front one, in… fact…

As he realized this, he saw then something that no one else could have. Taking his small knife, he oh-so-carefully inserted it into the abnormally thick back cover of the Book. Running it down the inside of the binding, his suspicions were proved correct. The Book's back cover was hollow. And inside was a _very_ thick packet of unbound paper. Inside, there were no ink splotches. The (short) message was loud and clear.

- due south for 75 nautical miles, then south by south-west for 70 nautical miles. Once you have reached this point, you will meet someone who can help you with the rest of your quest. -

There was more, Hiccup saw, leafing through the pages. But it didn't seem relevant to anything at the moment. There were, however, plenty of interesting designs, as well as several dragons Hiccup had never seen the likes of before. Whole new classes, completely different dragons… this was a wealth of knowledge. And it wasn't even the Master Copy!

He had to put the Book aside - it was already quite late - but he had a plan for the morning.

* * *

"So yeah, that's it. I'll hide in the woods of Berk for about 3 hours, then you come and look for me. I will attempt to stay out of sight till the third day. If I succeed, then you will clean the ox pens for a week."

"And if _I_ succeed," Snotlout bragged, "then _you_ will attempt to steal Astrid's axe, and engrave your initials onto it."

Hiccup grinned, a rare sight. "Deal."

_Oh no,_ Astrid thought, slinking away from the originally unintentional overhearing. _I am _not_ letting him re-carve this axe._

_Because you like how he did it the first time, right?_

She blushed when she realized her stupid brain was right. Quelling that thought, she set about preparing for Hiccup's eventual attempted thievery. Because as good as he was, there was no way he could stay out of sight for three days. Right? …Right?

* * *

Snotlout was grinning all the way home. How his cousin could be so _stupid_ at times was beyond him. Hiccup had only said "stay out of sight." _Not_ "stay out of your sight." A vital difference, and one he was willing to exploit.

He'd just round up a large herd of Vikings and _scour_ the forest. Victory was easily within his grasp.

* * *

_That was easy_, Hiccup thought. Of course, he had known Snotlout would take the deal. Of course he had known Snotlout would take any chance he would get to show up his cousin. Why should this be any different?

Hiccup wasn't planning on staying, in case you haven't figured that out yet. No, he was leaving as soon as he could. So no one questioned him when he took a large amount of food and gear with him as he left for the woods.

Sometimes he amazed even himself.

* * *

Hiccup broke out of his reverie, and looked down at the moonlit sea beneath him. They had been traveling for about 75 miles, now - the bright lights of Berk were just disappearing over the horizon - so, taking out his compass, he steered the dragon a little to the right, heading south by south-west. Squinting against the glare of the moon on the water, he could only _barely_ make out a landmass on the horizon. He urged Toothless on.

* * *

It was the darkest part of the night when they made landfall. Too late to look for anything. So, almost in a daze, Hiccup took out his bedroll and a faux supper for them both, ate his, lay down, then immediately fell asleep. He was _beat_.

* * *

It was late morning when he awoke again. Eating a hearty breakfast and getting back on Toothless, they circled the island, looking for anything in particular. It was fairly small, maybe about 49 square miles, at most. And nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Not even that fireball - wait. "Toothless, did you shoot, just now?" He shook his wide head 'no'. "Hmm…"

Swooping down, they found a few more explosions, all seemingly concentrated in a small circle. And there was a man at the center of the circle. He hadn't noticed Hiccup nor Toothless yet, so they decided to land outside of the imaginary ring of explosions. Walking forward, Hiccup still on Toothless' back, they cautiously approached the man. They could see him now, and Hiccup watched, astonished, as he pointed at a rock, and it instantly blew up. Clearly, the man had power beyond that of even dragons. This was someone to be feared… or was it the man who would help them with their quest?

The man noticed them, it seemed, and promptly blew up. Hiccup was somewhat startled, but a second explosion, right in front of them (that sent Toothless rearing), assured Hiccup that the man was very much alive.

Hiccup found his voice, and asked the stranger, "What manner of man are you that can summon fire without flint, tinder, or dragons?"

"I…" the man said, dramatically. "...am an _enchanter._"

Hiccup looked down at Toothless. The dragon looked at Hiccup, and snuffed. "By what name are you known?" Hiccup again asked of the enchanter.

"There are some who call me…" It seemed like the enchanter was actually trying to remember his own name, for a minute…

"Tym?" the stranger finished.

"Greetings, Tym the Enchanter."

"GREETINGS, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, heir to the Tribe of Hairy Hooligans." The man pronounced his r's with a bit of an excessive roll, Hiccup thought.

"You know know my name?" Hiccup knew that in desperate times, you never upset a wizard. Ever.

"I do." Tym pulled his staff out, and flames shot forth, not pointed at either Hiccup & Toothless, nor at Tym himself. "You seek the true Book of Dragons."

Now Hiccup was truly astonished, and let it show. "That _is_ my quest. You know much that is hidden, o Tym."

"Quite." With that, he pointed his staff at a tree, and promptly blew it to bits, with a little projectile that shot out the end.

Toothless clapped his plates together. Clearly the dragon was impressed with the man's skill with fire.

Hiccup nodded his astonishment. Tym was quite powerful; that much was true at least.

"Yes, I'm looking for the Book of Dragons. My quest is to find the Book of Dragons."

Tym said nothing, but Hiccup felt like he was somehow being examined…

"And so, I-I-I'm looking for it." Nothing. "So, erm, anything that you could do to help me would be… very…. ah, helpful."

Tym continued to stand, fairly still, in front of Hiccup, continuing with his silent examination.

"Look, can you tell me where -" Hiccup got no more than that out when a fireball from Tym's hand shot out and scorched the ground right in front of Toothless. The dragon _did_ rear this time, but was soon settled again.

"Fine," Hiccup said, "I don't want to waste any more of your time, but, er, I don't suppose you could tell us where we might find a, um, find a, um, a, uh…"

"A what?" Tym asked, his face betraying nothing.

"A b.. a b-b.. a B -"

"A BOOK OF DRAGONZZZZ?" Tym shouted, ending the word with a harsh s.

"Yes, I think so," Hiccup said, backing up a bit. "Yes. Yeah, yep."

"YES." Tym was fairly emotionless when it came to these matters, Hiccup thought.

"Oh. Oh, thank you. That's great -"

Tym turned his back on Hiccup and proceeded to launch several explosions, absolutely destroying a cliff face across the way.

"Look, you're a busy man -"

"YES, I can help you find the _Book_…" Tym continued. "To the north, there lies a cave. The cave of Kaier-Bannog. Wherein, carved in Nordic runes, upon the very living rock, the last words of Bork the Bold of Berk…" Thunder rumbled in the distance. "...make plain the last resting place of the true Book of Dragons."

"Where could I find this cave, Tym?" Hiccup asked, eager to start now that he was really on his way.

"Follow," Tym said, motioning to the north.

"BUT!" he continued, whipping his head back around almost in Hiccup's face. "FOLLOW ONLY if ye be a man of valor. For the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived. Bones of full fifty men lie strewn about its lair ... so brave Viking if you may doubt your strength or courage come nae further, for death awaits you both with nasty big pointy horns." Tym then proceeded to mimic the beast he talked about, using his fingers to mimic large horns.

_What an eccentric performance…_ Hiccup thought.

* * *

Following Tym on foot, Toothless bringing up the rear, Hiccup mused for a moment. He was getting really good at it.

_You know, that man didn't seem that fazed at me on the back of a dragon. Then again, being a wizard…_

Tym ducked down suddenly, and Hiccup followed. _"There is the cave of Kaier-Bannog,"_ Tym whispered, pointing to the cave's entrance. It was littered with bones, some Viking armor, and plenty of shields.

"Right. Here I go," Hiccup said.

"_Too late!"_ Hiccup drew back suddenly, snatched by Toothless's teeth.

An ox walked into view, at the mouth of the cave. A scrawny, mangy, old ox.

"_There it is!"_

"_Where?"_

"_Right there!"_

"_You mean behind the ox?" _

"_It _is_ the ox!"_

Hiccup looked at Tym. "It is the ox?"

"Aye. I'm warning you… I've had many a man come through here and die. Look at the bones!"

"You know what? I'll take your word for it. Toothless?"

Toothless grunted, then unleashed a fireball, one of those that he was most famous for.

The cow promptly exploded, and Toothless let out a triumphant snort in its general direction.

Tym, who for the first time showed a little emotion, patted the dragon (somewhat gingerly) on the head. "Good job… Toothless, your name was?" The dragon nodded an affirmative.

* * *

Hiccup, Toothless, and Tym entered the cave, wary of any unseen danger.

As it was dark, Hiccup got Toothless to light a few torches, and passed one to Tym. The enchanter promptly stuck it to the top of his staff and left it there. Hiccup shrugged and turned back to the search.

Just when it seemed that they would run out of cave, Hiccup glanced to the side. "There, look! What does it say? What… language is that? It's like Norse, but not quite like Norse."

"It's old Norse, from an old time," Tym offered. "I can translate for you."

- Here may be found the last words of Bork the Bold. He who is valiant, and pure of spirit (being a hiccup helps), may find the true Book of Dragons in the safe of ybbrmooheeblajah."

"Yibbermooheebladjah?"

"That's what it says," Tym defended.

"Hmm…" _That must have been when Bork went berserk, _Hiccup figured.

"So. The safe. Umm… what's a safe?"

"It was a design I heard him speak of."

"Wait. You've met Bork?"

"Sonny, I was ancient when Bork was a baby."

"Fair enough." Hiccup turned back to the wall. "So… what's a safe?"

"Well, it's a stone cupboard, with -"

"What's the use of a stone cupboard?" Hiccup laughed. "You could just break it down!"

"Nae… not this stone. See, this stone doesn't break. You have to melt it at exceedingly high temperatures. Only a Nadder's breath can cut it. And, the interesting thing is? It's transparent."

"What's… transparent?"

"One of the words Bork made up. Basically, you can see through it."

Now Hiccup was laughing outright. "See-through stone? Stronger than steel? I think you've had too many near misses with those explosions of yours, Tym."

"NAE!" Tym defended. "I can show it to you!"

Hiccup was pleasantly surprised. "...Oh. Okay. Lead on, o Tym."

* * *

Hiccup followed the wizard, still chuckling. Transparent stone. Harder than steel. Ha. Funny.

"An' another thing, lad," the enchanter was continuing. "Bork also found metal that melts in your hand. He found no use for it. I was thinking you might," he said, motioning to Toothless' harness.

"Hmm… maybe."

"Oh, and one more thing. If you put Zippleback gas in an ice container - you have those, right?"

"Yes. They keep our yak milk cold." That had been Gobber's idea, when he and Stoick had gone out to rescue some yaks and sheep. Gobber had milked the yaks, and found that their milk, when cold, was actually better than when warm. The idea had soon caught on, and soon ice blocks became a major Berk import.

"Well, if you put enough Zippleback gas in an ice container, then seal it, after a week, poke a hole in the bottom. Make sure it's still cold. Put it in a steel container surrounded by ice. MAKE SURE it stays cold… otherwise it'll explode. Experiment with the liquid. You'll see something very interesting…"

"Oka -"

"We're here," Tym interrupted.

They were still in the caves, and _something_ was stuck in the wall to their right. Holding his torch up, Hiccup saw a glint, then his own torch shone back at him a million times from the stone in front of him. "Wha… what is that?"

"Bork called it di-ay-mound." _Di-ay-mound…_ "Diamond?"

"Yes, that was it."

"Interesting…" He took out his knife, but Tym only chuckled. "You can try…"

Hiccup, wary, used the flat of the blade against the stone - and the _blade_ got marked!

Now he was convinced. "Okay, you've sold me… how are we gonna get this open, then?"

"Well, Bork had insisted that he had made the perfect lock. I told him that no lock without a key will ever open. He told me that the key was built into the lock. I laughed and told him that anyone can open a lock with the key already in the pins. He challenged me then, and I still haven't been able to open it now. Do you think you can?"

Hiccup grinned. "I do. Hearing that the key was built into the lock reminded me of something I wanted to make. And now I know it exists."

Pulling out his papers, he looked again at the numbers. They were… directional values. And it seemed… oh. Aha.

Left 38. Right 4. Left 51. Duh.

The safe door opened, and Hiccup looked inside. There was an enormous book inside, at least as big if not bigger than the copy of the Book of Dragons. Hiccup's eyes were shining. This had everything he needed. And more.

Turning to tell Tym, he found the man was nowhere near. In fact, there was no sign at all.

"Tym? ...Ty-y-ym!" Hiccup called out. Nothing.

Ah well. Let the crazy kook be.

He had what he came for.

* * *

**So? What'd you think? Longest chapter yet! WOOT WOOT**

**Alright. I made three references here, ranging in difficulty from 'so obvious' to '**_**I**_** know **_**that!**_**' to 'somewhat obscure'. Anyone who gets all three: LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**And everyone else leave a review as well. :P**

**- J.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, so the three references are (with explanations) :**

**- The marked letters I mentioned spelled my name.**

**You know? J A K ? Ah, never mind.**

**- The marked letters spelling out a small clue.**

**This was a bit of an obscure reference to 'Ready Player One'. It's a good read, and I suggest you read it.**

**- And last but not least: Tym the Enchanter.**

**Good ol' Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The reason I put this in is because Tim had a very Scottish accent, so I was wondering… what if… well, that was the end result.**

* * *

**REVIEWING REVIEWS:**

** halobeast-117: Yeah, I got the ybbr… from the actual movie (**_**Holy Grail**_**), where Aaaaaauuuugghhhh…. is spelled out in runes. It's actually a very funny scene.**

** Cottonmouth25: ...Who?**

** WikiSorcerer: Look up there. Up, before the line break.**

** kitty.0: Well, the ox was supposed to stand in for the killer bunny. An ox would be a far more common livestock. And don't worry, his quest is about over. But the real adventure has begun.**

** Blue - The First Traveler: Yes. Really.**

** Blitz: Only partially correct, my good man.**

** Angryhenry: Here you go. And more angst to boot!**

* * *

After Hiccup had successfully retrieved the Book of Dragons - the _true_ Book of Dragons - he and Toothless headed for the surface.

Turned out it was almost nightfall when they eventually climbed out of the cave. So Hiccup and Toothless bedded down for the night.

* * *

Morning dawned bright and clear, as the duo awoke from their fairly deep sleep. Toothless had woken a few times, intentionally, to make sure no one had harmed his boy.

That, and to think for a bit.

The boy was very interesting, that much was fact. When they had found the paper thing in the cave, the boy had been very excited. Apparently excited enough that he had failed to notice the fire-man's disappearance in a cloud of smoke.

The fire-man was interesting, as well. Toothless had never seen nor heard of a man who could summon dragon-breath at will, never mind with such obvious talent and prowess. And, almost as an ironic bonus, the man seemed to have no shot limit. Much unlike that of the dragons. But the man was also clearly somewhat sun-ridden, and had been for some time. Toothless knew not where the man had gone, nor the man's motives for helping Toothless' boy, but he _had_ helped Hiccup, the dragon knew that much.

Ah, Hiccup. The dragon let out a small rumbling chuckle. The boy was far from perfect; he had a bit of an awkward gait, never mind an awkward mindset. But the boy was honest. Probably the most honest being Toothless had ever met, including dragons. If the boy could lie, it would only be to protect others, never solely himself. And in his most honest, open moments, that was when the dragon was audience to Hiccup's innermost thoughts.

The past few moon-cycles (about 8 or so, according to Toothless' count) had been almost solely flying training, learning the skills and weaknesses of dragons, and simple romping about in the woods. But it was after all the work, and the fun, when they were both tired out, that Toothless really got to know his boy.

Hiccup was about 5 and a half Nadder spikes tall, had Zippleback-green eyes, loved fish (cooked, not raw), hated chicken (in any form), had the last name of a fish, hated eels (thank Krejnal), loved to take night flights, hated getting wet (for long periods of time), was apparently a Hooligan (whatever that was), and had a definite crush on a girl in the village.

How did Toothless know the last part?

Well, the long half-hour spiels and the detailed sand and/or paper renditions of the girl in question were indication enough.

Toothless couldn't exactly understand why the boy didn't just _take_ the girl home with him. It was fairly obvious to the dragon that Hiccup wanted to be with her. Whoever she was. Then again, the boy wasn't exactly the most beefiest of the large hairy 'Vikings'. And apparently this girl, whoever she was, could wield an 'axe' with great skill.

Toothless tried to understand, but, being a dragon, and having a fairly obvious communications barrier, things were difficult. Suffice it to say that Hiccup wanted to be in a relationship with this girl, 'Astrid', and he hoped that it would be better than 'the mud on her boots'.

Toothless noticed his boy stirring in the cool morning air, and padded over to investigate.

"Hmmf Trphmfflph."

The dragon, well-acquainted with the truncated, muffled form of his name, burbled happily, rolling the boy over with one gentle paw. Hiccup laughed, and their morning tussle ensued.

"Yahhh!" Hiccup yelled, swatting at Toothless' snout with a gentle arm, the dragon poking back at the young Viking. "Night Fury and fishbone, arch enemies!" Well, until Toothless solved the problem.

The dragon simply plopped his head down onto Hiccup's chest. "Aaauuuugghhhh…" the boy groaned. At that, Toothless let his tongue dart out, coating the boy's face in a plentiful layer of dragon saliva. Now licking Hiccup freely, the boy making 'I'm disgusted!' noises, the dragon eventually stopped, sitting back on his haunches, making a throaty chuckle.

"You _know_ that doesn't wash out," Hiccup complained, shaking off the spittle. Just as a bit of a comeback, he shook some off at Toothless. The dragon snuffled, shook his head, then gave Hiccup 'The Look'.

You know the one. The big-eyed wide pupiled one. Hiccup grinned, and put his hand out, closing his eyes. Toothless bumped his wide scaly nose up against the smooth palm of the boy, closing his own large green eyes.

It had become almost a ritual for the duo. A trust exercise, if you will. They'd always do it every day before flying, and it had become an integral part of their nigh-unthinkable pairing.

After the contact was broken, Hiccup loaded the gear while Toothless stretched, unleashing a few blasts of his fireballs. It never hurt to let out some old dragon-breath, and if it didn't come out the mouth… Well, let's just say Hiccup didn't want to sleep in the same cave as Toothless ever again.

* * *

After having successfully explored the island and determining that Tym was nowhere to be found, they headed for home, Hiccup using the compass and the instructions to return home within a few hours, at about sunset. Carefully keeping Berk between them and the sunset, they made sure there was no one anywhere near the cove, then, at treetop level, skimmed over to the cove, Hiccup quickly and quietly dismounting.

_This would be a really bad time for Astrid to show up._

* * *

Thankfully, Astrid was on the other side of Berk, getting talked up by Snotlout. She was heading to the forge, presumably to get her axe sharpened (it was fine, she just needed an excuse… _any_ excuse…).

"C'mon, babe."

"Not your babe."

"Astrid, why not? I'm everything you're looking for. Muscular build -" here he flexed and Astrid attempted to hold back lunch. "- a winning face -" He grinned into a shiny metal plate, checking his reflection for the umpteenth time. As he turned away, Astrid caught the plate quickly beginning to rust over. She snickered, but the amusement was lost on Snotlout. "...and all the wealth a Viking needs," he said, a hand gently - too gently - turning her towards the village, where a building stood out from the rest.

"Okay, first of all, what makes you think muscles make me happy? Second of all, your face was why your mother gave birth at all, and third… that house looks like you built it yourself."

"I did," the raven-haired Viking whined, his ego hurt, but only a little.

"And fourth," she continued, ignoring the lean-to of a house that stood right on the edge of the cliff, "the only reason you'll be able to protect me is because whenever you lift your arms past your shoulders, everything else will run in fear."

Unbeknownst to them both, Ruff and Tuff were both watching, silent, grinning at the drama before them. _"This is so better than watching Hiccup in the forge," _Ruff volunteered. _"I know. This is awesome," _Tuff grinned. _"Hail Astrid, queen of the Viking loudmouths."_ They both snickered, silently.

Snotlout, meanwhile, just wasn't getting the hint. "Aw, why not, babe?"

"_Not…_ your _babe_…" Astrid muttered through clenched teeth.

Snotlout ignored that. As he did everything else. "Let me guess. It's Hiccup, right?"

Astrid's ears flamed, and she turned around, brandishing her very sharp spear, holding it very close to his neck, before she realized her overreaction was probably giving her answer away anyway.

"No."

_Yes._

She stormed off in a huff, leaving Snotlout to puzzle in the silence left over.

* * *

Hiccup walked back into the village, somewhat anticlimactically, looking for his cousin. He noticed Astrid out of the corner of his eye, apparently heading to the forge. He called out to her, but she must not have heard him, for she just turned away and kept walking. He shrugged and went to find Snotlout. Not a difficult feat. Just follow the rusted-over shields.

"Hey, Snotlout," Hiccup called out. Snotlout froze.

"Remember the deal? Shovel's at the back of the forge. Good luck." With that, he headed for home, deciding to not let his exhaustion show.

Flopping on the bed, not actually caring whether Snotlout fulfilled the requirements or not, he lay awake for a little, staring at the wooden boards above, trying to puzzle out his life. The Book - the true Book - was safe, buried in a cave in the cove behind a rock inside a hole that Toothless had carved.

He wanted to be noticed. And not in a bad way. He wanted to actually be somebody. Most of all… he wanted Astrid to notice him. Maybe not as an equal, but at least as somebody more important than a doormat.

With that somewhat less-than-pleasant image swirling in his mind, he fell into a quiet if not necessarily restful sleep.

* * *

Astrid lay staring at the ceiling as well. Just, another ceiling. Somewhere else.

Today was interesting. Not only did Snotlout get to do some major clean-up (which she heartily enjoyed watching), but Hiccup came back. And that was probably the scariest thing of all.

Because her split-second of vulnerability with Snotlout, she needed to come to terms with the fact that she felt a measure of attractiveness about Hiccup.

No. No, she couldn't do this. Not now. Not when she was so close to graduation.

She needed to win. After she won, she could see how Hiccup was doing, then come to terms with her feelings. She'd tell him how she felt, then she'd just say that it couldn't happen. That would end it there. Right? Right.

Still… there was a part of her that just… seemed to disagree…

* * *

**So yeah… I'm pooped. That was the shortest chapter yet.**

**What did ya think? Leave a review PLEASE.**

**- J.**


	10. Chapter 10

**But alas, my dear friends, we have come to the final chapter. And I'm afraid our hero has fallen victim to a **_**terrible**_** curse…**

**JK**

**Shrek quotes ftw.**

* * *

**Alright. Back to the main story line. More or less.**

* * *

**REVIEWING REVIEWS:**

** faisyah865: 1. Ohhh yes. 2. Don't worry, he's well aware. XD 3. She's only fooling herself. Hiccup's just denying it outright.**

** snoopykid: *points to update***

** kitty.0: Eh. It's okay. 6 months ago I probably would have only gotten one.**

** halobeast-117: Glad ya like it! **

** winer123: Interesting name…**

** Random Guest: I beg to differ. The official site says he's 14 in the movie, 15 in the series, and 20 in the sequel. In this story he's about 17 and 11 months, currently.**

** Farrafelpies: Well, you can rest safely assured you have the most passionate review yet.**

* * *

**Sorry for the delay, everyone! I was getting this reviewed by two awesome people: Cke1st and E. Wills Check out their stories!**

* * *

Gobber was hard at work putting the final touches on a decorative axe - one specifically requested by Stoick himself. It would be hung in the Great Hall, along with several decorative shields. Those would be next on the list.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hiccup approaching the forge, for work (why else), and his thoughts began to drift a bit.

Gobber didn't really know much about the scrawny youth. Most of what he knew was derived from Hiccup's griping and Stoick's exasperation. But, thanks to his unique perspective, he was able to understand both. Fairly well.

Take Stoick, for example. Seventeen years of embarrassment after embarrassment, and finally "Hiccup was proving himself near-Viking worth"! Gobber could empathize; Hiccup's apparent and complete lack of smithing ability had matured - quite quickly, actually - to a point where the boy was actually turning weapons into art.

Take Astrid's axe, for another example. Oh, he had seen it before, and Gobber knew very well he hadn't done that. That was Hiccup's handiwork, through and through. And the older man had to admit, the boy knew what he was doing. So Gobber hadn't minded the 'waste' of silver.

And another thing. The boy's physical prowess had increased greatly over the past few months. No longer did he have to struggle to carry both a shield_ and_ an axe. Now they almost seemed to be a part of his daily outfit. Before, he had to struggle to get the hammer to fall exactly where he wanted on the axe; a sword Gobber could craft in hours would take Hiccup days. Not anymore. If Gobber didn't know any better, he would think Hiccup was actually gaining on him in skill.

Speak of the boy.

"Morning, Gobber," the lanky teen said, grabbing for the nearest pile of weapons. "Busy day so far?"

"Mornen', Hiccup. And no, not tha' busy. Just a few fishers off for th' shoals." Dunking the axe, Gobber held it in the bucket for a moment, then pulled out the more-or-less finished weapon. Sure, it needed carving and decorative notching, but that was for later. Now? They needed weapons. The dragons were sure to attack again some night soon, and Berk needed to be ready. And that meant work. Ten-hour days, constant forging, and continuous, sweltering heat. All for the sake of what? Killing a few of the slimy lizards?

When he thought about it like that…

He shook off his temporary reverie. At this point, it was him, the hammer, the tool, and the anvil. And he liked it that way.

* * *

Hiccup was about halfway through his pile of weapons when Snotlout walked in. He sighed. He really didn't want to deal with his cousin right now.

"What is it, Snotlout…?"

"My mace is broken; I need you to fix it."

"Put it on the pile," Hiccup droned, gesturing to the 'work' pile with his hammer, before continuing with his current tool.

"No, little cousin, you don't _quite_ understand. I need this fixed _now_. Astrid's coming down the road, and I want to show her exactly how tough I am. Which means I need the mace fixed. Now."

Hiccup was inwardly laughing his mukluks off. Snotlout obviously didn't know the first thing about fixing weapons. They took _time_. The black-haired bonehead must have figured that it only took… what… ten seconds to fix a mace? Fat chance. He grinned to himself as he went to get his tools. He could already see Astrid outside. Astrid versus Snotlout? Now this would be interesting to watch. Too bad he'd be busy fixing a mace.

* * *

"Hey, Astrid!"

Astrid was walking up the path past the forge, intending to see Gothi about some herbal tips and tricks while dragon fighting. Thanks to a large, peanut-brained jerk, however…

She sighed. "What is it, Snotlout?"

"You want to do some training with me, after we finish smashing all the other teenagers' heads in? Like, with weights and stuff? I've got this whole rig set up in my dad's basement. You should really come by some time."

"You've asked me before. I've answered you before. No. And no." Then she noticed. "Are you… flexing?"

"No…?"

He was definitely flexing. Geez. The guy really _did_ have a thick skull. She huffed, and walked up to him. Half an inch taller he may have been, but the fact that she could easily send him into an uncontrolled tumble at any moment was reassuring.

Like right that second.

As Snotlout began his more-or-less daily roll, Astrid peeked inside, just to see what they were up to.

Well, Gobber was working on a sword - plain enough - but where was Hiccup?

Not even sure why she cared, she stepped into the forge. "Hey, Gobber?"

The older man stopped his work, only slightly out of breath. Holding up a finger, he reached for a nearby tankard of mead. After swallowing a mouthful, he turned back. "Yes, lass?"

"Do you know where Hiccup is?"

"Ah, he's right behind - Oh. Where is he?"

Hiccup called out from the back, "Just back here, Gobber. Getting some tools I haven't needed in a while. Won't be a minute."

"Right. Anything else, lass?"

"No, no, just… curious, is all."

She stepped out again, snatching one final glimpse at the back wall, where Hiccup was, _presumably._

* * *

Hiccup came back around the tool rack, holding his mace-sharpening tools. "Was that Astrid?"

"Yep. She just came in for a lookaround."

"Ah." His face betrayed nothing, but Gobber could sense a slight… something? Was there friction between them? That would make sense, considering Hiccup's amazing progress in the arena. Still… it didn't seem like animosity...at least, none beyond the usual expected rivalries. Shrugging, he turned back to work. He wasn't paid to _think_, after all.

Come to think of it, he wasn't technically paid at all.

Less thinking, more working.

* * *

That evening, Hiccup had decided to not go for a nighttime flight. There was just too much work to do in the forge - and unfortunately that meant late nights and early mornings. But… he just didn't feel like working. In fact, he just didn't feel that good in general. To him… his life felt like he was juggling swords. Toothless, dragon training, forging… Astrid…

_Astrid_…

Just the mental image of her - the one where she was walking away from an explosion - would send his mouth into an uncalled-for goofy grin. He would quickly wipe it off, but then immediately remember why he had it in the first place… long story short, this loop could go on for thirty seconds, or half an hour, depending on how much time he had.

And then there was the problem that Toothless represented. How he was still able to keep the charade of being a Viking (while at the same time re-training a dragon to fly) was almost beyond him. Some mornings… he wanted to just give up and go back to sleep.

There was just too much to do. He flicked a pencil up his desk, sending it rolling up, and back down. Up, and back down. Up, and curving back around past his wrist. Up -

A thumping sound resounded from the shop interior. Hiccup looked up as Stoick forced his way through the door into Hiccup's private study…

_Oh nonononono - _

"Dad! You're back!" Stoick had been back for several days now… but neither Hiccup nor his dad had seen the other since before the fleet had left. Chiefing duties and all. Hiccup scrabbled as quickly and discreetly as he could to cover all the notes about Toothless. "G-Gobber's not here, so…" He closed the book, trying oh-so-desperately to fake its insignificance.

"I know," Stoick rumbled. "I came looking for you."

"You did?" _Well… paska._

"You've been keeping secrets from me." Stoick's tone took on a more accusatory side, but if Hiccup had been looking, he could easily have seen the glint in Stoick's eyes or the slight upturn of his mouth. As it was…

"I-I-I have?" Hiccup's knees were knocking together faster than a Gronckle's wing-beats.

"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?"

Hiccup made one last stand. "I… don't know what you're -"

"_Nothing_ happens on this island without me hearing about it."

"...oh?"

"So. Let's talk…. about that dragon."

_TOOTHLESS. _Hiccup broke down. Not in tears, just in composure. "Oh gods. Dad I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how to -"

And then his dad started laughing. Unsure why, he joined in, not the least bit reassured. "Y-You're not...upset?"

"What?! I was hoping for this!"

Huh? "Uh...you were?" Wait… his dad _wanted_ him to train a dragon? This… this could actually -

"And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait til you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time. And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear. What a feeling!"

Oh. This… this was about how well he had done in the ring. So… they hadn't found Toothless. Well that was a relief.

Stoick's over-exuberance had sent Hiccup stumbling back onto his cot.

"You really had me going there, son. All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen! Odin, it was rough. I almost gave up on you!"

As his dad continued, Hiccup grimaced, getting back up out of the small bed. His dad was continuing:

"And all the while, you were holding out on me! Oh Thor almighty! Aaah!" Stoick's enthusiasm would have been infectious, if it wasn't so gravely misplaced. Grabbing a stool, he sat down, anxious to hear about his son's prowess in the ring. "With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something _to talk about._"

_Well this is awkward…_ Hiccup thought after an excruciatingly long pause.

Stoick _thankfully_ broke the silence. "Oh, I... brought you something. To keep you safe. In the ring." Reaching behind him, Stoick pulled out a helmet. Twisting one horn straight, he gave it to Hiccup.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was amazed. This… this meant his dad actually considered him a Viking… "Wow. Thanks." He felt over the soft leather, marvelling at the craftsmanship.

"Ah, your mother would've wanted you to have it. It's half of her breast plate."

Hiccup jerked his hand back, giving a nervous chuckle. Stoick tapped his own helmet and smiled. "Matching set. Keeps her… keeps her close, y'know?" There was a brief pause as Hiccup let that sink in. "Wear it proudly," Stoick continued. "You deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal."

And _there_ was the rub. Because Hiccup was blatantly (behind everyone's back) befriending, training, and helping dragons.

Hiccup gave a tense sigh, placing the helmet on the desk. Faking a yawn, he stretched, letting his muscles relax a bit. "I should… really get to bed…."

Stoick sat up abruptly, bumping his head lightly against the ceiling. "Yes! Good! Okay. Good talk. See you back at the house."

They began talking over each other again… "Yeah, we should do this again. I'm great. Thanks for stopping -" "- glad I stopped by. I hope you like -" "by… And thanks for the, uh, breast… hat." "- the hat."

Well that was awkward. They cleared their throats, feeling the gap between them more than ever.

"Well, ah…" Stoick muttered, "good night." With that, he practically dove for the door.

How Stoick managed to get out without knocking over more than one barrel of axes was anyone's guess, Hiccup thought.

Suddenly, there was one more thing to worry about. His relationship with his father just added another axe to his juggling act.

* * *

The Gronckle hovered in the ring, looking for her prey. They had woken her up before she was finished her nap. And now they would _pay_. There were only two this time. She hadn't gotten a good look at either Viking, but it sounded like a boy and a girl. She couldn't wait to breathe molten lava at them. It would improve their looks _so _much.

* * *

Hiccup hid behind a wooden mini-wall, trying so hard to be inconspicuous -

Suddenly there was an axe at his throat. Vaguely, he recognized that it belonged to Astrid. She was saying something, but only half of him was paying attention. The other half was attempting to keep him from dying.

"...out of my way. I'm winning this thing…" With that, she was gone as quickly as she came.

Hiccup watched her go, with a "Good. Please. By all means." The limelight was something he really did not need at the moment.

He turned, looking at the cheering crowd above him. Giving them a wave and a smile he did not feel at all inside, he turned back to the ring, wondering how in the nine worlds he had gotten this far.

* * *

After smashing Tuffnut's head in with a shield (the slightly older teen had found it to be 'awesome'), Hiccup had then advanced up to one-on-one versus Fishlegs. That had been difficult… he had had to adjust his fighting style for the broader, heavier teen, but soon enough Fish also was lower on the scoreboard.

That had gotten Snotlout's attention, so without further ado, the black-haired self-proclaimed 'hottie' had challenged Hiccup to a duel - shields _and_ swords. That had been difficult. Hiccup had won, but only barely. With that grim reminder solidly implanted in the back of his mind, Hiccup had decided he needed his own sword.

Shaping it out of two thin strands of metal, he had formed a 'hollow' sword. Then came the piece de resistance. He had asked Gobber for some Monstrous Nightmare spittle. The older Viking had looked at Hiccup strangely, like the fishbone had grown an extra head, but had gotten the spit.

Turns out a Nightmare's spit, when slathered all over itself and set on fire, became like a fiery cloak. That was how they could set themselves aflame at all. That same spittle, coating a sword, then lit on fire? Epic flaming sword.

Snotlout had re-challenged Hiccup (the first time was a fluke, of course, Snotlout figured), but the older boy had been in for quite a surprise when 'Inferno' made an appearance. That time Hiccup had won so obviously there had been no need for a third round.

Astrid, meanwhile, had been training with a new fervor, trying her hardest to stay 'the best.' So when Gobber brought up that Astrid and Hiccup would be tag-teaming against a Gronckle, she felt more than ready to take it down single-handedly.

Hence her axe to Hiccup's throat.

* * *

All the other teens now rallied behind Hiccup. Something about being the underdog always brought extra compassion one's way. Compassion and attention Hiccup did not need. At all.

The Gronckle, meanwhile, finally realized who the two teens were. There was the yelling girl (not really nice to anyone in particular) and the scrawny boy who brought nice smelling plants. She liked him. Maybe he had more of that grass stuff…? Curious, she made a beeline for him.

Astrid was dodging and weaving, making sure the Gronckle couldn't get a clear shot. She had seen the dragon buzzing over to Hiccup - easy pickings, for sure - and was ready to win. "This time," she muttered. "This time - for sure."

With a furious war cry, she leapt over the barrier, swinging her axe back to throw at -

Hiccup. Standing over _her_ dragon. While it lay senseless in front of him. No. No no no no no.

She didn't notice his terrified demeanor respective to the dragon, nor his attempts to explain. All she knew was… she had _lost_.

"NO! No, you son of a half-troll, rat-eating munge…. bucket!" she yelled, slashing at air in an attempt to get back at the world in general. She couldn't lose. She was _Astrid Hofferson_, for Thor's sake!

Stoick's voice rang over the crowd. "Wait! Wait."

Hiccup attempted to make an early departure. "So... later!"

Gobber snagged the back of his shirt with a "Not so fast."

"But, I'm kinda late for -"

Astrid got in his face again. Specifically, her axe. "**What**? Late for _what_, exactly…?" She was _livid_…

"Okay, quiet down," Stoick called out again. "The elder has decided."

With that, Hiccup and Astrid stood arm's-length apart, with Gobber behind them. He put his hook hand over Astrid's head. Gothi shook her head. Murmuring, the crowd waited impatiently for Gothi's answer. Was it Hiccup or wasn't it? Gobber, somewhat hesitant, pointed at Hiccup. And so did Gothi. Everyone erupted into cheers, ecstatic that Hiccup had won. Well, everyone except for two people. A grimacing Hiccup, and a seething, absolutely livid Astrid.

Hiccup was doing everything he could to ignore the fiery death glare Astrid was sending his way. Gobber wasn't really helping much. "OH, YE'VE DONE IT, LAD! YE'VE DONE IT, HICCUP! YOU GET TO KILL THE DRAGON!"

Stoick included his two cents with a proud, "Ha ha ha! That's my boy!"

Hiccup was suddenly hoisted up onto Fishlegs' back, as the other teens swept him away, cheering and chanting his name. He went along with it, trying to fake excitement at best as he could.

"Heh, heh. Oh yeah! Yes! I can't wait. I am so…"

* * *

**Alert, Captain! A solid chapter of Hiccstrid on the horizon! **

**- Jak**

**P.S. Leave a review, even if it's only AOUGROUWGROUGWR. I will respond in turn. :P**

**P.P.S. Also plz check out mah tumblr. Plz? jaksandrow . tumblr . com**

**P.P.P.S. I'm gonna be gone again for some time, due to home renovations. I'll be back up before the second movie, though! I hope.**


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